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Maine School Fighting Hepatitis A

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

School officials and health workers in Kennebunkport, Maine, continue to fight an outbreak of Hepatitis A  that began in September.

The most recent case was confirmed last week in a fourth student at Conoslidated School. The confirmation came just one day after  most of the student body and staff received vaccine delivered by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

School Principal Katharine Pence has informed parents that a second round of vaccine will be administered at the school as a follow-up. In another attempt  to curb the virus -- which can lead to acute liver disease lasting from a few weeks to several months -- the school has temporarily shut down its cafeteria salad bar.

The newspaper website Seacoastonline.com reported Thursday that health officials believe its possible that more students could have contracted the virus, but aren't feeling sick yet. That's because the incubation period for Hepatitis A, the time it takes for symptoms to develop, can range up to 50 days.

For the next few weeks, students at the school who experience intestinal distress will be tested as a precaution, the website said.

The Maine CDC has said the outbreak probably started from an adult who recently returned from a country where Hepatitis A is prevalent. Of the 10 confirmed cases in the community, eight have been in the same family. The family has a link to the school, officials have said.

Hepatitis A is transmitted through ingestion of fecal matter and from close person-to-person contact or "ingestion of contaminated food or drinks,'' according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Hepatitis A can lead to mild, flu-like symptoms, or, at its worst, can impair liver function and lead to death. 

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on November 13, 2008 (boomark / email).