Hepatitis A Outbreak in Palmerston North
08/07/2008
| Hepatitis A Outbreak in Palmerston North
MidCentral Public Health Unit has been working with Milson Head Start Educare Early Childcare Centre in Palmerston North and local General Practice Staff to manage an outbreak of Hepatitis A associated with the centre.
The Public Health Unit was notified of a case of Hepatitis A in a child who attends the centre on Friday 4 July and over the weekend all contacts of the case have been followed up and given vaccination and treatment as required per Ministry of Health protocols.
As a result of this follow-up a further five cases of Hepatitis A have been identified and had appropriate follow-up. An outbreak of Hepatitis A involving children can be difficult to identify as the illness is non-specific and children can be very infectious with very few symptoms.
Medical Officer of Health Dr Jill McKenzie said: “This outbreak could have occurred in any early childcare centre and with the cooperation of staff and parents/caregivers of the children attending we are confident that all control measures are in place to prevent further spread of illness.”
“The prompt follow-up of contacts was only possible with a collaborative effort between Public Health, the Centre, and the local General Practitioners and their staff. “The willingness of all those involved to work together to manage this outbreak has been excellent, especially given this happened at the first weekend of the school holidays,” says Dr McKenzie.
Hepatitis A is an uncommon infection in New Zealand and is most often associated with overseas travel. It is a notifiable disease so the number of cases are closely monitored. In MidCentral District Health Board’s region there were no cases notified in 2007 and two cases in 2006. New Zealand had 42 cases in 2007, and 123 in 2006 associated with an outbreak in a Christchurch early childcare centre.
Hepatitis A symptoms are similar to a gastro bug with nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, abdominal discomfort and jaundice. Children are more likely to have mild illness or have no symptoms. Adults and individuals with pre-existing liver disease are more likely to have significant illness. Almost everyone makes a complete recovery from the illness with no lasting effects.
The illness is passed on by close personal contact (e.g. living in the same house), poor hand washing, and contaminated food. The illness is prevented by reinforcing good hygiene especially hand-washing. Vaccination may be used to stop spread to other people who have been in contact with a case. Vaccination is also recommended for people travelling to countries where Hepatitis A is more common.
The illness can take up to 50 days to develop after exposure but usually occurs around one month after exposure. Cases of Hepatitis A are infectious up to two weeks before symptoms and up to one week after the development of symptoms.
Dr McKenzie says the best way of preventing spread of the infection is to concentrate on excellent hand washing – 20 seconds with soap and warm water and 20 seconds drying – after going to the toilet, changing nappies, and before preparing or eating food.
For more information about Hepatitis A contact the Public Health Unit on (06) 350-9110.
CONTACT:
Communications Unit: (06) 350-8945