Eight people have now been diagnosed with hepatitis A following an outbreak at a South Wales primary school.
Public Health Wales has confirmed that six people associated with Glyn-Gaer Primary School, Caerphilly, have the infection, along with two in the neighbouring community.
An outbreak control team is working to establish links between the two patients and the school.
'Parents need to remain vigilant'
A total of 222 pupils and 48 adults were vaccinated last week as a precaution.
Parents at the school have received a letter advising them to remain vigilant to the signs of hepatitis A, as children exposed to the infection may still develop symptoms.
Heather Lewis, consultant in health protection for Public Health Wales, said: “Hepatitis A is a viral infection that is usually short lived that has unpleasant symptoms but is rarely serious. Children often only have a very mild illness.
“Symptoms can include flu-like symptoms such as tiredness, general aches and pains, headaches and fever, as well as loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, abdominal pains, jaundice, very dark urine and itchy skin.
“Good hand washing after using the toilet and before preparing or eating food is the best way to prevent the virus spreading.
“Children may have very few symptoms but can pass the virus onto others so we are reminding parents to encourage good hand washing at all times.”
'Risk to public remains low'
Parents are being advised not to send their child to school for seven days if hepatitis A is suspected.
Read more: These children died from meningitis - and their parents want Wales to vaccinate all under 11s
Heather Lewis added: “We are confident that to date, all the public health actions needed to control this outbreak have been taken and that the risk to the public remains low.
“However, due to the very long incubation period of hepatitis A we may see more cases.
“We continue to work closely with environmental health officers to investigate this outbreak and to offer advice to parents, school staff and pupils.
“People are advised to contact their own GP or NHS Direct Wales on 0845 46 47 if they have any concerns about their health or their child’s health.”
The hepatitis A vaccination is not routinely offered on the NHS as the infection is rare in the UK, with only 13 reported cases in Wales in 2012.
Public Health Wales strongly advises that anyone travelling to a country where the infection is more common – particularly Africa, northern and southern Asia, Central America and southern and eastern Europe – should receive the hepatitis A vaccination along with any other travel immunisations recommended by their GP.
What is hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A is a liver infection caused by a virus that’s spread in the poo of an infected person.
It is uncommon in the UK but certain groups are at increased risk, such as travellers with poor levels of sanitation, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs.
Hepatitis A can be unpleasant but it’s not usually serious and most people make a full recovery within a couple of months.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of hepatitis A develop, on average, around four weeks after becoming infected although not everyone will experience them.
Symptoms can include:
- feeling tired and generally unwell
- joint and muscle pain
- a high temperature (fever)
- loss of appetite
- feeling or being sick
- pain in the upper right part of your stomach
- yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
- dark urine and pale stools
- itchy skin
The symptoms will usually pass within a couple of months
What about vaccinations?
Hepatitis A vaccination is not routinely offered on the NHS as the infection is rare in the UK with only 13 reported cases in Wales in 2012.
However it is strongly advised that anyone travelling to a country where the infection is more common (particularly Africa, northern and southern Asia, Central America and southern and eastern Europe) should receive the hepatitis A vaccination along with any other travel immunisations recommended by their GP.
see-http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/eight-confirmed-cases-hepatitis-after-11275527
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