Jason Misner
Jun 28, 2006
Even though regional health officials say an isolated case of Hepatitis A at a local public school poses little risk of an outbreak, two immunization clinics were recently offered as a precaution.
Immunizations were recently given to specific students and staff of C.H. Norton Public School after a kindergarten student was officially diagnosed with a case of Hepatitis A.
C.H. Norton principal Pat Blake described the situation as an “isolated” incident and said there is no school outbreak of the illness that attacks the liver. She confirmed the student is at school and not contagious.

The child, who developed the illness last month, wasn’t feeling very well and gave a blood sample as directed by a physician. The results came back to the health department on June 12 and a communication and action plan was quickly set in motion, said Dr. Monir Taha, the region’s associate medical officer of health.
The clinics shouldn’t alarm the public that a more serious health threat exists, he cautioned.
Taha stressed there is no information to suggest any others at the school are sick from Hepatitis A, which is particularly more serious for adults than it is for young children. A major concern when young kids get Hepatitis A is spreading it to others, he said.
Taha wouldn’t reveal how the student developed the illness but said that it wasn’t contracted locally. “There is no ongoing risk,” he said.
According to the health department’s website, Hepatitis A is a serious liver disease found in the feces of an infected person. It can be spread when the infected person does not wash his or her hands after using the toilet and then handles food that someone else consumes. It can also be spread by close personal contact.
The incubation period for Hepatitis A is 15-50 days. Symptoms include jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, dark urine and fever.
There is no treatment for Hepatitis A, which is far more common in less developed countries than in industrial nations. In rare cases, it can cause death.
Those who travel are in one of the main groups at risk. Almost everyone gets rid of the virus over time and recovers completely.