A Ugandan health ministry official says an outbreak of hepatitis E in the country's north has killed at least 121 people.

The ministry's director for clinical services, Kenya Mugisha, says the disease is mostly affecting districts with people displaced by fighting between the government and rebel Lord's Resistance Army.

He says many people in the region are living in camps with poor hygiene and sanitation.

Hepatitis E is a serious liver disease.  Transmission is often caused by the ingestion of fecal matter, even in microscopic amounts.  Outbreaks are usually associated with contaminated water supply.

The 20-year conflict between the government and rebels in northern Uganda killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than a million others.  Many residents have returned to their homes since a cease-fire was signed in 2006.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.