Ukrainian city closes schools due to hepatitis outbreak
The authorities in the Ukrainian city of Vinnitsa have introduced distance learning starting Monday amid a hepatitis outbreak that has already seen dozens of people, including children, taken to hospitals, Ukrainian media reported on Friday.
“We are switching to distance education because of hepatitis A,” the city education department head, Oksana Yatsenko, told journalists on Friday, adding that “the disease spreads very quickly.” According to the official, it is not clear when the children can return to school.
The first reports about the outbreak appeared in Ukrainian media on Tuesday. At the time, the Ukrainian Health Ministry stated that 60 people were diagnosed with hepatitis A and hospitalized. That number included 14 children, the ministry added. According to the officials, 14 more people were still waiting for the final diagnosis at the time.
By Friday morning, the number of people with a confirmed hepatitis diagnosis rose to 122, with the total number of confirmed and suspected cases increasing to 135. Those affected by the outbreak included 19 schoolchildren, six university students, two teachers, and five medical specialists, as well as people working in various educational facilities, Ukrainian media reported.
Hepatitis A is a disease caused by a virus that leads to an inflammation of the liver and can cause mild or severe symptoms. The virus is transmitted through ingestion of contaminated food and water or through direct contact with an infected person. There is a small risk of a person infected with hepatitis A dying from fulminant hepatitis, according to the World Health Organization.
Unlike hepatitis B and C, hepatitis A does not cause chronic liver disease but it can still cause debilitating symptoms, the UN health watchdog warns.
The Ukrainian police have opened a criminal case into the disease outbreak. The first cases were registered between October 16 and 22, a law enforcement source told Ukrainian Strana news outlet. The police suspected water contamination of being the source of the outbreak, but it was later revealed that those infected drank water from different sources.
The causes of the outbreak remain unknown.
