THREAT OF HEPATITIS-E VIRUS-INFECTION IN SOMALIA DURING OPERATION RESTORE HOPE

In support of Operation Restore Hope, the United States military estab lished a diagnostic laboratory for infectious diseases, the Joint Forw ard Laboratory, in Mogadishu, Somalia. Because sporadic hepatitis due to unknown causes was a frequent problem, staff members of the Joint F orward Laboratory evaluated 31 Somalis, five displaced Ethiopians, and three Western relief workers who had acute clinical hepatitis. Patien ts lived in multiple locations in Somalia-Mogadishu, Baidoa, and Merca -and became ill between December 1992 and February 1993. IgM antibody to hepatitis A virus was found in one English relief worker, and IgM I antibody to hepatitis E virus was found in 20 (65%) of 31 Somalis, tw o (40%) of five Ethiopians, and two (67%) of three Western relief work ers. No patient had evidence of acute hepatitis B, malaria, yellow fev er, or other arbovirus infections. These data indicate that hepatitis E virus-the major cause of enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepati tis-was a common cause of acute sporadic hepatitis in Somalia during t he initial stages of Operation Restore Hope.