NEW YORK, Ramadan 1, 1436, Jun 18, 2015, SPA -- Hundreds of pregnant women in Nepal are at risk of dying from hepatitis E, as the onset of the monsoon season could trigger an outbreak of the virus in the earthquake-hit country, Reuters cited experts as warning. Tens of thousands of survivors of the South Asian country's worst disaster on record are at "very high" risk of facing an outbreak of the liver disease, which spreads through water contaminated with faeces, researchers said in the Lancet medical journal. Hepatitis E affects an estimated 20 million people around the world each year. For most people, the infection runs its course with a few long-term complications, but the mortality rate for pregnant women is about 25 percent. The experts said that an outbreak in Nepal could kill more than 500 pregnant women. --SPA 13:52 LOCAL TIME 10:52 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w