Hepatitis A rise in Lowell spurs action
By HILLARY CHABOT, Sun Staff
LOWELL -- A record number of hepatitis A cases has prompted city health officials to hold immunization clinics at area homeless shelters and health clinics to stop the spread of the disease.
Lowell has had 35 cases of hepatitis A since July, which is more than 17 times the normal amount, Health Director Frank Singleton said.
The disease, which is not fatal, causes the liver to swell and can cause flu-like symptoms and fatigue for more than a month.
The high number of cases drew the attention of officials from the state Department of Public Health. Boston, with six times the population of Lowell, reported only19 cases this year, and Worcester reported only 16.
"That's why the local health department is taking this seriously," said Dr. Bela Matyas, a DPH doctor. "This is a large increase."
Singleton said the city has been working to slow the spread of the disease and to try and find the source.
"We need to prevent this epidemic from bleeding into the school population and causing a real horror show. We'd have to do a major immunization (if schoolchildren became infected,)" Singleton said. "But so far we can't really find a common source."
Hepatitis A cases are also up slightly in Chelmsford, Tewksbury, Westford and Dracut, too. Hepatitis A has been on the rise across the entire state, said Matyas, and Greater Lowell is the most recent area to see the spike.
Hepatitis A is passed through the stool of those infected. The most common way of contracting the disease are oral contact with infected fecal matter, or by consuming contaminated food or drinks. Other methods include intravenous or inhaled drug use.
The best prevention is to wash your hands.
Homeless people, drug users and children are most at risk because they are less likely to either have access to soap and water or practice good hygiene, said Singleton.
City health officials held two immunization clinics in December at homeless shelters to target the population.
While the high-risk population used to make up about 5 percent of the total hepatitis A cases, it now makes up 50 percent of those infected, Singleton said.
Those infected could be jaundiced or have flu-like symptoms for about a month. It is highly contagious for the first two weeks before symptoms began, but one out of every four adults won't show symptoms at all.
Singleton said so far the disease hasn't come from restaurants or other places that serve food. Officials usually look at food-service areas because it is the easiest way to spread the disease quickly, said Lowell Public Health Nurse Lisa Golden.
"I've even seen cases where someone who was infected handed a water bottle to another person, and the other person became infected," Golden said.
Westford Public Health Director Sandy Collins has started a program of offering immunizations to food handlers to ensure the disease doesn't spread.
Hepatitis A is the least harmful of the six types of hepatitis, and it does not cause a chronic infection.
Other towns haven't been able to pinpoint a source for the small increase. Dracut had three cases this year, up from two cases last year.
Ron Mote, a public health nurse in Dracut, said the town is just remaining vigilant.
"I'm keeping tabs on it. It's on the radar," Mote said. "We want to contain it and track it down as to where they came down with it, but we're not having a lot of luck finding a source."
Hillary Chabot's e-mail address is hchabot@lowellsun.com.
