Health emergency in Dagua city with 18 cases of hepatitis A infection.
About 72 people are being studied to see if they have the disease, according to Dagua Mayor Ana María Sanclemente.
The local president reported that her government was conducting an investigation and collecting water samples from aqueducts in the Borrero Ayebe area, where most of the people affected by the disease apparently came from.
However, steps are being taken in other parts of the city, where symptomatic patients have also been reported.
Likewise, another measure he said was an inspection of how food was handled at restaurants in the area.
Ms. Sanclemente reported that we had a meeting with the Valley Health Secretariat to analyze the situation and identify actions to prevent the Hepatitis A outbreak from spreading to other cities.
“We have negotiated with the department, the Ministry of Health, the Sanitation Executive Unit, the Jose Rufino Vivas Hospital and the mayor’s office, water samples have been taken from all the aqueducts in the department, and We’re waiting for those results to see if it does match up with the water, or if it’s a contamination in saliva from one of the sources we said, or maybe a food issue.”
Also read: Cali is the city with the second highest number of hepatitis A and tuberculosis cases in Colombia
disease
Hepatitis A is an infectious disease that affects the liver and is caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). It is mainly spread when an uninfected person ingests water or food contaminated with the feces of an infected person.
This infection is strongly associated with consumption of unsafe food and water, poor sanitation, poor personal hygiene and oral sex.
Symptoms of hepatitis A include fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, fever, jaundice, and dark colored urine.
Hepatitis A is an acute or transient infection, which means people usually get better after a few weeks without treatment.
Hepatitis A does not cause long-term complications, such as cirrhosis, because HAV does not stay in the body after the infection has cleared.
Hepatitis A vaccination is recommended for travelers to countries with a high prevalence of hepatitis A, men who have sex with men, injecting and non-injecting drug users, persons with clotting factor disorders such as hemophilia, and others.
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