In the capital's Vidradny microdistrict, an outbreak of viral hepatitis A has been recorded - 65 people have fallen ill, including 31 children. Due to the incident, all schoolchildren in the district have been transferred to distance learning. The cause of the outbreak is still being investigated. At the same time, vaccination against hepatitis A is currently paid.
This was announced during a briefing by Natalia Gunchenko, Deputy Director General of the Kyiv City Center for Disease Control and Prevention, reports UNN.
Details
According to her, as of the morning of May 16, the largest number of cases was recorded in Kyiv - 65 people.
Of these, 31 are children. This is the Vidradny microdistrict in the Solomyansky district of Kyiv
At the same time, according to the specialist, there is no specific treatment for this disease.
The only thing is a vaccine against viral hepatitis A. It is not included in the calendar of mandatory vaccinations. It is included in the recommended vaccinations. The population can buy the vaccine at their own expense and vaccinate both adults and children. As of today, May 10, 330 people have been vaccinated at their own expense. Most of them are children, fewer adults.
According to Gunchenko, the cost of the vaccine for adults today is UAH 1080 and UAH 820 for children. At the same time, revaccination (repeated vaccination) is recommended within 6 months, but revaccination is allowed within a period of up to 5 years.
Gunchenko noted that viral hepatitis affects all age groups of the population, but most often children and young people under the age of 35 are at risk. Older people are more likely to have already "had" the disease and, accordingly, have some immunity to it.
The investigation into the sources of the outbreak in the capital is still ongoing.
Given that the disease has a fairly long incubation period (almost up to 50 days), experts have to conduct a retrospective study of the outbreak: take water samples from reservoirs, drinking fountains and centralized water supply.
In addition, many people, especially children and adolescents, are being tested for the disease.
But we are interested in what happened 2 months before this event. That is, every day we find something new and continue to look for it, conduct these studies, collect these materials.
According to her, all students of schools in the Vidradny microdistrict have been transferred to online learning in order to slow down the spread of the disease "from person to person" during daily contact.
According to the doctor, despite the unpleasant situation, it is not unique.
Viral hepatitis A is constantly registered and is always present. But periodically there are years of ups and downs. For hepatitis A, this is every 7-8 years. Last year there were 2-3 cases, so this is such a situation
Recall
Earlier, UNN wrote that 34 cases of hepatitis A were recorded in Kyiv, 20 of which were in children. The causes of the outbreak are being investigated, experts are conducting epidemiological investigation and taking anti-epidemic measures.