Aneley Getahun1, Eric Rafai2, Maria Ximena Tolosa3, Akanisi Dawainavesi4, Anaseini Maisema Tabua5, Josefa Tabua5. 1. School of Public Health and Primary Care, College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji . 2. Fiji Ministry of Health, Suva, Fiji . 3. Australian Volunteer for International Development, Suva, Fiji . 4. Fiji Centre Communicable Diseases Control, Ministry of Health, Suva, Fiji . 5. Ba Medical Subdivision, Western Health Services, Suva, Fiji .
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: A cluster of suspected hepatitis A cases was notified to the Fiji Ministry of Health on 22 October 2013. An outbreak investigation team was mobilized to confirm the existence of an outbreak of hepatitis A and advise appropriate public health interventions. METHODS: A case definition for the outbreak investigation was established, and standardized data collection tools were used to collect information on clinical presentation and risk factors. An environmental assessment was also conducted. RESULTS: There were 160 clinical cases of hepatitis A of which 15 were laboratory-confirmed. The attack rate was 349 per 10,000 population in the Nukuloa nursing zone; there were no reported deaths. Residents of the Nukuloa settlement were 6.6 times more likely to present with symptomatic hepatitis A infection (95% confidence interval: 3.8-12.6) compared with residents of another village with a different water supply. DISCUSSION: This is the first significant hepatitis A outbreak documented in Ba subdivision and possibly in Fiji. Enhanced surveillance of hepatitis A may reveal other clusters in the country. Improving the primary water source dramatically reduced the occurance of disease in the affected community and adjacent areas.
OBJECTIVE: A cluster of suspected hepatitis A cases was notified to the Fiji Ministry of Health on 22 October 2013. An outbreak investigation team was mobilized to confirm the existence of an outbreak of hepatitis A and advise appropriate public health interventions. METHODS: A case definition for the outbreak investigation was established, and standardized data collection tools were used to collect information on clinical presentation and risk factors. An environmental assessment was also conducted. RESULTS: There were 160 clinical cases of hepatitis A of which 15 were laboratory-confirmed. The attack rate was 349 per 10,000 population in the Nukuloa nursing zone; there were no reported deaths. Residents of the Nukuloa settlement were 6.6 times more likely to present with symptomatic hepatitis A infection (95% confidence interval: 3.8-12.6) compared with residents of another village with a different water supply. DISCUSSION: This is the first significant hepatitis A outbreak documented in Ba subdivision and possibly in Fiji. Enhanced surveillance of hepatitis A may reveal other clusters in the country. Improving the primary water source dramatically reduced the occurance of disease in the affected community and adjacent areas.
Authors: Xu Ye-Qing; Cui Fu-Qing; Zhuo Jia-Tong; Zhang Guo-Ming; Du Jin-Fa; Den Qu-Yun; Luo Hui-Min Journal: Western Pac Surveill Response J Date: 2012-12-20
Authors: Thuppal V Sowmyanarayanan; Ashis Mukhopadhya; B P Gladstone; Rajiv Sarkar; Gagandeep Kang Journal: Indian J Med Res Date: 2008-07 Impact factor: 2.375