PMID- 22946291
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20120924
LR  - 20220408
IS  - 0014-1755 (Print)
IS  - 0014-1755 (Linking)
VI  - 50 Suppl 2
DP  - 2012 Apr
TI  - An outbreak of veno-occlusive liver disease in northern Ethiopia, clinical 
      findings.
PG  - 9-16
AB  - BACKGROUND: Following the emergence of an unidentified fatal disease in Tahtay 
      Koraro, rural farmers' village in Tigray, northern Ethiopia since 2001, a team of 
      experts from Addis Ababa University Medical Faculty was assigned in November 
      2005, to investigate the problem in the field. The team consisted of an 
      Infectious disease specialist, a Gastroenterologist, an Epidemiologist, a 
      Pathologist, and a Microbiologist. The team was also joined by a group of Tigray 
      Regional Health Bureauprofessionals. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the nature of 
      unidentified liver disease, identify possible cause(s) and recommend specific 
      interventions/treatment in order to save lives and stop further spread of the 
      disease. METHODS: Data were collected from Clinical history, clinical evaluation 
      of the affected cases in the area, relevant laboratory investigations, and 
      histopathologic studies. RESULTS: The team evaluated sixty one of patients in the 
      field (37 males and 24 females) with mean age of 27 years. The disease affected 
      both gender and all age groups. Duration of the illness ranged from 1 month to 3 
      years with a median of 6 months. The illness was reported to have started with 
      abdominal cramp in 75%, febrile syndrome in 77%, and abdominal distention in 63% 
      of the cases. This was usually followed by jaundice, bleeding tendencies, and 
      edematous states mainly in the form of rapidly filling ascites. Majority of the 
      patients had similarly sick family members and/or lost family member(s) due to 
      the same illness. Moreover, laboratory, sonography, histopathological, and 
      toxicological studies revealed VOLD due to Pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) toxicity 
      as described in the other sections of the supplement. CONCLUSION: From a detailed 
      clinical and epidemiological investigation as well as histopathological and 
      toxicological analyses, the disease was found to be fatal toxic hepatitis 
      (veno-occlusive liver disease (VOLD). To our knowledge, this is the first report 
      of VOLD from Ethiopia.
FAU - Bane, Abate
AU  - Bane A
AD  - Department of Internal medicine, Addis Ababa University, Medical Faculty, Addis 
      Ababa, Ethiopia.
FAU - Seboxa, Teshale
AU  - Seboxa T
FAU - Mesfin, Gebrekidan
AU  - Mesfin G
FAU - Ali, Ahmed
AU  - Ali A
FAU - Tsegaye, Yohannes
AU  - Tsegaye Y
FAU - W/Tensae, Mihret
AU  - W/Tensae M
FAU - G/Selassie, Solomon
AU  - G/Selassie S
FAU - Haile, Tewodros
AU  - Haile T
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - Ethiopia
TA  - Ethiop Med J
JT  - Ethiopian medical journal
JID - 0373223
RN  - 0 (Drinking Water)
RN  - 0 (Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Adult
MH  - Child
MH  - Child, Preschool
MH  - Cross-Sectional Studies
MH  - *Disease Outbreaks/statistics & numerical data
MH  - *Drinking Water
MH  - *Environmental Exposure/adverse effects
MH  - Ethiopia/epidemiology
MH  - Female
MH  - Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease/*mortality/pathology
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids/toxicity
MH  - Rural Population
MH  - *Water Pollution/adverse effects
MH  - Young Adult
EDAT- 2012/09/06 06:00
MHDA- 2012/09/25 06:00
CRDT- 2012/09/06 06:00
PHST- 2012/09/06 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2012/09/06 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2012/09/25 06:00 [medline]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Ethiop Med J. 2012 Apr;50 Suppl 2:9-16.