AWD outbreak in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

September 1st, 2009 | EthioPolitics.com |

By Yohannes Anberbir, Ethiopia

An Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) outbreak has hit Ethiopia’s capital city Addis Ababa. Currently over 400 people are affected and have been seeking treatment in the city’s hospitals.

The number of infected people was very few just two weeks ago, according to medical director of Ras Desta Damtew, one of the city’s hospitals. However the number of patients has been increasing rapidly this week; currently an average of 20 patients per day are coming to the hospital in search of medical treatment for AWD, the director said.

The city’s hospitals are facing shortages of treatment rooms and have been forced to use staff dressing rooms and to set up tents as temporary treatment centers.

Indications of the diseases were first observed in July this year, in remote rural areas. The disease has been traced to six regional states according to the country’s Ministry of Health report released last week.
Near to 1,000 people throughout Ethiopia are currently infected and 15 deaths are reported by the Ministry. However, there are only two deaths reported by Addis Ababa hospitals, according to the MoH. Contaminated drinking water is cited as a cause and it is advised to boil water thoroughly before drinking.

A five stage strategic plan approved six months ago by the Addis Ababa Administration anticipated a possible outbreak of such water related diseases. According to the assessment, 25 per cent of Addis Ababa’s solid waste is not properly discharged while 25 per cent of the overall residential houses lack adequate lavatories. Out of the 800,000 cubic meters of the city’s daily waste only 10 per cent (that is, 8,024 cubic meters) was properly discharged last year, the document indicated.

The most alarming part of the findings indicate that the city’s poor sewerage system is bedded close to one of the main fresh water systems that supplies 37 percent of Addis Ababa’s water needs. There have been cases where residents were reportedly exposed to polluted water supplies.

The assessment also included the capacity of the city’s health institutions. The city has only 10 hospitals, six of them owned by the federal government.

According to a World Health Organization requirement, a medical doctor can reasonably be expected to treat 10,000 patients while one nurse is to serve up to 1,000. However, a medical doctor in Addis Ababa treats 29,470 patients against 4,356 for a nurse.