DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ejhs.v26i5.1

Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) is an acute illness which has remained as one of the important public health problems in Asia and Africa causing substantial morbidity and mortality. It occurs both as a short outbreak and protracted epidemic/pandemic. The transmission of the causative bacteria is usually through the fecal-oral route of contaminated food or water caused by poor sanitation. From late 2014 to end of 2015, AWD outbreak has grasped 30 of the 47 counties of Kenya causing close to 7000 cases of morbidity and over 100 deaths. The outbreak occurred in light of the El Niño floods which created
favorable conditions for the spread of the causative bacteria. After spreading in Kenya for over a year, the disease moved to Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, AWD was first reported in districts of Oromia and Ethiopian Somali close to the Ethio-Kenyan border in February 2016. Thereafter, it continued spreading east and north reaching many parts of the country including the capital city and the northern parts of the country. Despite an ongoing effort to contain the outbreak, it continued spreading to large areas of the country affecting a large number of people; its course remained protracted and kept many people at risk.

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