Hepatitis diagnosed in fourth student
March 30, 2006
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Barbara Isaacs
A fourth kindergarten student at Lexington's Mary Todd Elementary has been diagnosed with hepatitis A, health department officials reported yesterday.
Earlier this week, a child in Early Start at Yates Elementary also was diagnosed with the disease. That child was in a class of 15 children, ages 3 to 4.
Yesterday's new diagnosis at Mary Todd means that 10 cases of hepatitis A have been reported in Fayette County since early February -- three adults and seven children.
Health department epidemiologists are investigating the illnesses, but aren't yet sure how widespread the problem might be.
"We are in an outbreak," said T.J. Sugg, regional epidemiologist for the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department. "Right now it's really hard to say for sure how extensive the thing is."
Hepatitis A has a long incubation period, 28 days on average. That's the average length of time that people can harbor the virus and spread it before they know they have it. Also, children can have such a mild case that they can infect others unknowingly and never know they are ill.
That lag time can make it difficult to track.
Sugg said it might be next week before they know how widespread the disease is.
Seven of the sick people -- three adults and four children -- are relatives. A child from that family spread the disease to kindergarten classmates at Mary Todd Elementary.
The rash of illnesses is considered an outbreak because there are many more cases of hepatitis A than are normally expected. In 2005, two cases were reported in Fayette County.
Hepatitis A attacks the liver and can cause aches, fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, loss of appetite and yellow skin and eyes. It is caused by putting something in the mouth that is contaminated with the fecal matter of a person with the disease. Frequent hand washing is critical to prevention.
And even though the families have not had direct contact, Sugg thinks the case at Yates and the original cases at Mary Todd are connected. "But we haven't found the link yet," he said.
Sugg said close contacts of all the sick people are being checked. Those who have had close contact are getting a vaccine against hepatitis A or an immune globulin shot, or both.
Immune globulin helps the body fight against hepatitis A it has been exposed to within the past two weeks. The hepatitis A vaccine helps protect people who have not yet been exposed; it doesn't give full protection until a month after the injection.
Workers from the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department have administered hepatitis A vaccines and immune globulin shots at both Yates and Mary Todd.
Both schools have sanitized carefully.
