South Sudan, in partnership with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), has launched a mass vaccination campaign to combat the deadly Hepatitis E outbreak in Bentiu that has killed at least 17 people and infected 759 others. Pregnant women, who are at the highest risk, are a key focus of the initiative.
MSF Medical Director Dr. Monica Rull stressed the importance of the campaign, calling it a milestone in efforts to control Hepatitis E, a waterborne disease that has long affected vulnerable communities in displaced persons camps.
“The fight against Hepatitis E has been long and frustrating,” Dr. Rull said on Monday. “MSF has been responding to outbreaks in difficult conditions for decades and has witnessed the devastating impact on already fragile communities. This vaccination campaign gives us hope for a new approach.”
The campaign, which began in 2022, is the world’s first mass distribution of the Hepatitis E vaccine (Hecolin) in response to an active outbreak. In its initial stages, around 25,000 people, including pregnant women, received the vaccine in Bentiu’s internally displaced persons (IDP) camp. A final round of vaccinations is planned for October.
Dr. John Rumunu, Director General of Preventive Health Services at the Ministry of Health in South Sudan, expressed optimism that the initiative will help reduce infections and save lives.
“The positive community response and the success of the first two rounds show that this strategy can be replicated in other outbreak settings,” he said.
Bentiu’s Conditions Exacerbate Crisis
Bentiu, South Sudan’s largest IDP camp, was established in 2014 during the country’s civil war and currently shelters around 112,000 people. Years of violence and flooding have worsened living conditions, leading to repeated outbreaks of hepatitis E since 2015 due to poor sanitation and limited access to clean water.
MSF has been at the forefront of efforts to contain the disease in Bentiu since the camp’s inception.
Melanie Marti, Chief Medical Officer at the World Health Organization (WHO), described the vaccination campaign as a major milestone in global health efforts, noting that while the vaccine has been licensed for more than a decade, it is the first time it has been widely administered in an outbreak setting.
“This is a game changer,” Marti said. “Countries facing hepatitis E outbreaks should follow this example and prioritize vaccinations, especially for pregnant women, who are most vulnerable to serious complications.”