Evidence of Person-to-Person Transmission of Hepatitis E Virus during a Large Outbreak in Northern Uganda

Background Outbreaks of infection with hepatitis E virus (HEV) are frequently attributed to contaminated drinking water, even if direct evidence for this is lacking. Methods We conducted several epidemiologic investigations during a large HEV infection outbreak in Uganda. Results Of 10,535 residents...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 2010-04, Vol.50 (7), p.1006-1010
Main Authors: Teshale, Eyasu H., Grytdal, Scott P., Howard, Christopher, Barry, Vaughn, Kamili, Saleem, Drobeniuc, Jan, Hill, Vincent R., Okware, Samuel, Hu, Dale J., Holmberg, Scott D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
ARTICLES AND COMMENTARIES
Biological and medical sciences
Contamination
Disease control
Disease Outbreaks
Disease transmission
Drinking water
Epidemics
Epidemiology
Female
Hepatitis
Hepatitis E
Hepatitis E - epidemiology
Hepatitis E - transmission
Hepatitis E virus
Hepatitis E virus - isolation & purification
Humans
Infections
Infectious diseases
Jaundice - epidemiology
Male
Medical sciences
Potable water
Risk Factors
Surface water
Time Factors
Uganda - epidemiology
Viruses
Water Microbiology
Water Supply
Young Adult
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Summary:Background Outbreaks of infection with hepatitis E virus (HEV) are frequently attributed to contaminated drinking water, even if direct evidence for this is lacking. Methods We conducted several epidemiologic investigations during a large HEV infection outbreak in Uganda. Results Of 10,535 residents, 3218 had HEV infection; of these, 2531 lived in households with >1 case. HEV was not detected in drinking water or zoonotic sources. Twenty-five percent of cases occurred ⩾8 weeks after onset of hepatitis in an index case in the household. Households with ⩾2 cases were more likely to have a member(s) who attended a funeral, had close contact with a jaundiced person, or washed hands in a common basin with others (P
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1086/651077