Hepa A outbreak still not contained

TANDAG, Surigao del Sur — Provincial health authorities admitted yesterday that the hepatitis A outbreak in Tago town, particularly in a barangay near the Surigao del Sur Polytechnic State College (SSPSC), is not yet contained.

Dr. Cesar Pagaran, provincial health officer, urged students and residents to voluntarily undergo blood tests, saying that hiding one’s condition might endanger public health.

"My greatest fear is that this coming vacation, these students will go home to their respective towns and barangays, and we won’t have any control of the outbreak anymore," Pagaran said.

The SSPSC caters to poor but deserving students from as far as Agusan del Sur. It has satellite colleges across Surigao del Sur and is applying to become the first state university in the Caraga region.

Health officials and the provincial government claimed that the hepatitis A cases started in a district near the state college after an owner of one of the boarding houses there, who had manifested symptoms of hepatitis A, reportedly died of liver cancer.

The patient’s wife underwent treatment at the Adela Serra Ty Medical Center here for hepatitis A and was later discharged after her condition improved.

Three of the couple’s children have also reportedly shown symptoms of the illness like yellowish skin and eyes but were left untreated due to financial constraints and still went to school.

According to reports of the provincial health office, nine cases were clinically diagnosed as hepatitis A last Feb. 27 and seven suspected cases were identified in Purok Sandiya, Barangay Victoria in Tago town.

On March 10, 30 cases were reported, and three days later, the number swelled to 36. As of Wednesday, the figure was 40.

To date, the results of random blood sampling showed that the cases have reached 51, with one case of hepatitis B. All manifested yellowish eyes and skin, diarrhea and body weakness.

Pagaran and other health officials admitted that their present efforts, in coordination with the provincial government, are incomplete since patients must undergo total liver case profiling to clinically determine the extent of hepatitis damage on their liver.

"It is only through liver profiling that doctors can identify what kind of treatment should be given to a patient (to restore his) normal condition," Pagaran said.

Yesterday, 11 more people, mostly students, were found to have hepatitis A, thus bringing the total count to 51. Pagaran said the success of hepatitis prevention and treatment and information dissemination depends on the cooperation of those infected.

He stressed that it is important for them to come out so their illness could be promptly treated and thus, more hepatitis cases could be prevented.