Blood test for Hepatitis E Virus. | Courtesy.

The Ministry of Health has declared an outbreak of the Hepatitis E Virus in Wau of Western Bahr el Ghazal State with 91 cases and five deaths.

The outbreak was detected after the state health authorities received influx of patients presenting signs of jaundice and deaths in March.

The health ministry said it responded with backing from the World Health Organization, by immediately deploying a multidisciplinary national rapid response team.

The response team were reportedly sent to Wau to conduct an “epidemiological investigation, characterize the event, determine the magnitude and identify exposures to guide control and prevention intervention.”

“As of April 13, 2023, a cumulative total of 91 cases with symptoms and signs consistent with HEV disease and five deaths were reported from Wau,” the ministry said in a press statement.

Majority of the cases (93%) reportedly came from Nazareth village in Wau South.

The disease has a fatality rate of 5.5% and males are the most affected – accounting for 73.6% of the infection, according to the press release.

Hepatitis E is a liver infection caused by Hepatitis E virus, which is found in the stool of an infected person. The most common source of HEV infection is a contaminated drinking water.