Due to an outbreak of hepatitis A in Vinnytsia, doctors started emergency vaccination of people who had been in contact with patients the day before. Currently, 144 patients remain in hospitals.
This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
Usually, people who have been in contact with hepatitis A patients are vaccinated in the first two weeks. It is about people who share their lives with infected people.
According to the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Ihor Kuzin, more than two thousand vaccines were delivered to the Vinnytsia region.
"First of all, the vaccination of doctors, emergency medical doctors and public health specialists involved in the elimination of the outbreak of viral hepatitis A began. The second stage of combating the spread of the disease is the emergency vaccination of the circle of contact people. These are free vaccinations," he noted.
According to the Ministry of Health, as of the morning of October 31, there are 144 people in regional hospitals who have been confirmed to have hepatitis A. 32 adults and 10 children have been discharged from medical facilities.
What is hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A is a viral disease that affects the liver and can have both a mild and severe course, the Ministry of Health reminded. The hepatitis A virus is transmitted by consuming contaminated food or water. The incubation period of viral hepatitis A usually lasts 14-28 days. Among the most common symptoms: weakness, fever, diarrhea, vomiting, jaundice.
Hepatitis A is also called Botkinʼs disease. Vaccination against it in Ukraine is not included in the calendar of routine vaccinations (unlike in Israel, China or the USA). But we have registered two inactivated vaccines against hepatitis A, which are approved for use in children from one year of age.
- On October 24, the Ministry of Health reported an outbreak of hepatitis A in the Vinnytsia region, schoolchildren have already been transferred to online education. Four different sources of infection, which could have led to the outbreak of the disease in Vinnytsia region, are being considered in advance. Each of the factors is worked out by parallel teams, and doctors additionally interview patients with a confirmed diagnosis and clarify connections that indicate a common source of infection.