Hepatitis-A outbreak in Cardiff Schools
Posted: October 11, 2014
Posted in: Public Place Accidents School Accidents
Three children in Cardiff have been diagnosed with Hepatitis A over the last week, despite having all gone to different schools. Public Health Wales is currently investigating the outbreak with concerns that others could potentially be affected. Health officials believe that one of the infected children contracted the virus outside of the UK.
Hepatitis A is initially caused by an infection in the liver, causing severe fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, headaches and fever. The virus is excreted in faeces, which is then spread through contamination, e.g. through food and water. The majority of people affected by the illness make a full recovery within two months, with complications found to be very rare. There is no specific treatment for the illness but suffers should seek medical help immediately.
Only 13 reported cases in 2012
Close contacts of the three children are being offered vaccinations to minimise the risk of them catching the virus. All three of the childrens’ schools have also been provided with advice on how to control and prevent the infection from spreading.
A spokesperson from Public Health Wales said that they were “confident” that all the correct measures had been taken to prevent the virus from spreading.
The vaccination for Hepatitis A is not regularly offered by the NHS as in 2012 alone, Cardiff only saw 13 reported cases of the virus.
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