August 2006

By: HATC
2006-08-24
Three people infected with the hepatitis A virus have been rushed to Kaposv*r hospital, bringing the overall number treated against the disease to 16. All those affected live in Istv*ndi, Somogy county, where the epidemic broke out two weeks ago.
Tests show that a failure to observe hygiene may have caused the…

August 24, 2006
HUNDREDS of students were yesterday inoculated to prevent an outbreak of hepatitis A at their school after a tuckshop lady tested positive to the virus.
A mother who volunteered at St Patrick’s College, Strathfield, on August 11 was diagnosed with the contagious disease on Monday.
The State Government has defended its decision to send out a media alert at 6pm on Tuesday — more than 24 hours after the worker had been diagnosed.
“Public health officers began working with the school immediately to identify the possible risk to others and to put arrangements in place for the clinic,” NSW Health communicable diseases director Dr Jeremy McAnulty said. “The media release was sent out to coincide with parents receiving notification.”Continue Reading Massive inoculation

The Fairfax County Times
By: Kali Schumitz
08/22/2006
State legislators this year added to the list of vaccines that children are required to get in order to go to any school, preschool or daycare in the state.
The Fairfax County Health Department is offering free doses of the Tdap vaccine for rising sixth-graders at various locations through Sept. 23.
Visit www.fcps.edu/news/vaccine.htm or call 703-246-2411 for details.
The new rules are intended to follow recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control, according to the text of the code that went into effect July 1.Continue Reading New youth vaccines required

By Katelyn John
August 23, 2006
HEALTH chiefs will investigate a Sydney school tuckshop as a program to inject 300 students to guard against an outbreak of hepatitis A began today.
More than 100 students and 15 adults at St Patrick’s College, a private Catholic school in Strathfield, were given immunoglobulin antibody injections at a temporary clinic.
The clinic will open again tomorrow as part of the measures to protect 300 students believed to have eaten from the tuckshop on the day a hepatitis A-infected volunteer helped prepare food.
NSW Health communicable diseases director Jeremy McAnulty played down the threat of a hepatitis outbreak at the school, but said the department would investigate work practices at its tuckshop.Continue Reading School injections begin to prevent hep A

The Chronicle Herald
August 22, 2006
Public health officials have discovered two new cases of hepatitis A connected to an outbreak in Lower Sackville.
That brings to 12 the number of people diagnosed with the virus since it first appeared in early June.
One of the cases reported Monday is a recent one connected to…

Aug 21, 2006
Canadian Press: ROSS MAROWITS
MONTREAL (CP) – A cocktail of bacteria, parasites and viruses in the water of Montreal’s swimming pools has forced the city to close two-thirds of its outdoor facilities.
Mayor Gerald Tremblay asked mayors of the city’s 19 boroughs to close 48 of the city’s 73 outdoor pools following a media investigation. “Public health is important for our administration,” Tremblay said Monday at a news conference. “We have to make sure that the safety our pools for our children and their parents is absolutely perfect.”
Tests found high levels of E. coli, C. difficile, Legionella, Hepatitis A, and Giardia, which can cause various reactions, including diarrhea, nausea, eye and skin irritations and respiratory problems.Continue Reading City of Montreal closes two-thirds of outdoor pools for failing tests

The Chronicle Herald
August 16, 2006
Canada-A summer outbreak of hepatitis A in the Lower Sackville area seems to be in a lull.
The Capital district health authority said in a statement Tuesday that no new cases of the virus have been reported since Aug. 8 and no new suspected cases have been identified.
Public health personnel say they will continue to investigate the outbreak, because hepatitis A has an incubation period of 30 days and could reappear later in the summer.Continue Reading Hepatitis A outbreak subsides, for now

Evidence aside, parents face tough choices
By: Raheem Hosseini
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
The kids are finally back at school this week, but not without meeting the state’s growing list of immunization requirements. But as the list grows, so does anecdotal concern over just how much medicine is too much.
“The problem is some of the fear out there is based on … real dated information,” said Cathy Dunbar, El Dorado County’s immunization coordinator.
The reasons for parents’ abstention varies, but one significant concern is borne from the much debated link between these vaccines and the spike in childhood autism cases.
Between 1987 and 2002, the number of individuals with full syndrome autism receiving services in California jumped 634 percent. That includes a staggering 97 percent increase between 1999 and 2002, when the state’s autistic population went from 10,360 to 20,377, and doesn’t include autism related disorders like Asperger’s.Continue Reading To vaccinate or not