Health impact of hepatic-venous-occlusive disease in a small town in Ethiopia—Case study from Tahtay koraro district in Tigray region, 2017

摘要

Background Hepatic venous-occlusive disease is blockage of microscopic veins in the liver causing 20–50% mortality. Ingestion of pyrrolizidine alkaloid plant, radiation therapy, and post-bone-marrow-transplant reactions are the commonest causes. In Ethiopia, a venous-occlusive disease outbreak was identified in 2002 in Tahtay Koraro district, Tigray. Suspected due to ingestion of the toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid plant Ageratum conyzoids , found throughout the district. We aimed to describe the surveillance data of venous-occlusive disease from September 2006 to August 2016 in Tahtay koraro district, Ethiopia, 2017.