School in Huddersfield sparks public health warning after two pupils are diagnosed with Hepatitis A

• Two children at Dalton School contracted the viral infection
• Public health officials are offering Hepatitis A vaccinations to all pupils and staff
• The school is working with local authorities to prevent any further spread

A public health warning has been issued after two children from a Yorkshire school contracted Hepatitis A. 

Dalton School in Huddersfield said it was working closely with local health authorities to ‘prevent any further spread’ after a pupil in year one and two contracted the disease.

Pupils and staff at the school have been offered Hepatitis A vaccinations as a ‘precautionary measure’, the school said. 

Meanwhile, parents have been urged by school headteacher Ian Richardson ‘not to worry’.

According to the Huddersfield Examiner, Richardson wrote: ‘I have been working with Public Health in order to support children and families in Y2 and Y1/Y2 where two children have contracted Hepatitis A.

‘These children are now out of incubation and offer zero risk to other children in the school.

‘As a result, Public Health have asked me not to raise any unnecessary awareness.

‘This ping is to ask you not to worry as there is absolutely minimal risk to all other groups in the school.’

Last year, UK public health chiefs noticed an increase in the number of acute (sudden onset) hepatitis cases in the UK in children aged 10 and under.

Between January and May, nearly 180 youngsters fell ill with an unusual form of the liver disease. 

Hepatitis A is a viral infection of the liver which is typically caught by direct contact with an infectious person or by consuming contaminated food and drink. 

Symptoms include mild fever, jaundice, joint and muscle pain, feeling and being sick, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, stomach pain, dark-coloured urine and itchy skin.

It is listed as a ‘notifiable disease’ under the Public Health Act 1967 and as such it is a legal requirement to report any case to the Public Health authorities.

People with a suspected hepatitis A infection should contact their doctor and remain at home, until they advise their return to school or work.

However, it can last several months and can also be deadly if it causes liver failure — when the organ stops working properly.

More information on hepatitis A can be found on the NHS website.