MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Hepatitis: bad news, good news.

Bad news and good news for the hepatitis “A” outbreak reported in Punta Arenas which so far involves almost twenty cases, mostly children.

The bad news is that two more cases have been identified: a pregnant 29 year old mother and a three years boy.

The good news is that the epidemiological monitoring has found the focus and involves a family extremely poor and numerous living in a shanty town, Alfredo Lorca in the outskirts of Punta Arenas.

"The focus of the viral disease has been tracked to a family, 16 members including nine minors, where the contamination problem started mainly because of the poverty and cramming conditions in which they live. They have no drinking water, and therefore no proper hands or food hygiene", indicated Lidia Amarales, Regional Public Health Ministry representative.

Family members of this very modest household transmitted the disease to neighbouring children, the school and the Children's Home where two of them are normally boarded. "Now that we have the focus identified and the situation hopefully under control, this Monday we will inoculate the 320 children of the Juan Williams primary school with the anti hepatitis vaccine. Three of the family's children have breakfast and lunch at the school", said Ms. Amarales.

Last week the eighty children of the Miraflores Boarding Home were vaccinated so now "we must concentrate in improving Juan Williams school conditions, installing more toilets, a better equipped kitchen and mainly convincing children and their parents of the most elementary but essential hygiene practice".

Ms. Amarales added that social experts will be visiting Alfredo Lorca shanty town residents to survey living conditions and impress on them the necessity of basic hygiene. "It's a good warning for the whole community", stressed the public health official