Surveillance of a chronic liver disease of unidentified cause in a rural setting of ethiopia: a case study.

SURVEILLANCE OF A CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE OF UNIDENTIFIED CAUSE IN A RURAL SETTING OF ETHIOPIA: A CASE STUDY. Ethiop Med J. 2016 Jan;54(1):27-32 Authors: Chiu C, Martin C, Woldemichael D, Selasie GW, Tareke I, Luce R, Libanos GG, Hunt D, Bayleyegn T, Addissie A, Buttke D, Bitew A, Vagi S, Murphy M, Seboxa T, Jima D, Debella A Abstract PROBLEM: An outbreak of chronic liver disease of unidentified cause, also called "Unidentified Liver Disease" or "ULD" was first observed in a rural village in Tigray, Ethiopia in 2001. Little was known about the geographical extent, trend, and epidemiology of this disease. APPROACH: We initiated a local active surveillance system to characterize and monitor trends for this emerging disease and to identify cases for treatment and follow up. LOCAL SETTING: Tigray is a rural, resource-limited setting characterized by a lack of electricity, rugged terrain, limited transportation, and few healthcare facilities and trained healthcare workers. RELEVANT CHANGES: The Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and Tigray Regional Health Bureau established the ULD surveillance system in 2009 and conducted a large-scale official training for the surveillance staff on case identification, management and reporting. In absence of a confirmatory test, the system used simple case definitions that could be applied by fro...
Source: Ethiopian Medical Journal - Category: African Health Tags: Ethiop Med J Source Type: research