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Ashburton community urged to get their kids protected
Media Release
October 14, 2013
Ashburton community urged to get their kids protected
Ashburton families with young children are being urged to get their children vaccinated against hepatitis A sooner rather than later.
The third of six hepatitis A vaccination clinics for children aged over 12 months and under five years will take place tomorrow (October 15, 2013) in Ashburton.
The vaccination efforts are in response to an outbreak of hepatitis A in Ashburton, which began in April this year with 28 confirmed cases to date, ranging in age from 14 months to 53 years.
Dr Alistair Humphrey, Canterbury Medical Officer of Health, says parents and caregivers of children aged over 12 months and under five years need to get their child vaccinated.
“We’re hoping to get
around 1500 children vaccinated so we are aiming to see
around 200 children attend the clinic each day. There was a
great response by Ashburton families on Wednesday last week
when more than 230 were vaccinated, but numbers were down on
the first day, probably because of the weather,” Dr
Humphrey says.
“It’s really important that everyone with a child aged between one and under five gets them vaccinated with the free vaccine. If we do not get a good response it is possible the current epidemic could last for several years.”
The disease is transmitted when people fail to wash their hands properly after going to the toilet. It is often spread by preschoolers who are not as good at washing their hands.
“Often preschoolers with the disease will have no symptoms, but if they pass it on to their parents or grandparents the disease can get very serious and lead to hospitalisation or worse. There is a significant mortality from Hep A in people aged over 50.
“Hand washing is the key to preventing the
transmission of hepatitis A. The Ashburton community have
been outstanding in their promotion of hand washing with
special hand washing tutorials being run in primary schools
and a buddy system for hand washing in the preschools.
“However, parents need to remain vigilant as it will be at least three months before we can say we have beaten this outbreak. We must make sure every family member washes their hands thoroughly after going to the toilet and before preparing food.”
Dr Humphrey has been impressed at
the high proportion of food premises that have provided the
vaccination to their staff.
“So far hepatitis A has
not been passed on through contaminated food and it’s
important we keep it this way. If it was transmitted through
contaminated food there is the potential for an explosion of
hepatitis A in Ashburton and beyond,” Dr Humphrey
says.
Free clinics
If your child attends a preschool, an information pack with specific times to attend has been sent there for you to collect. If your child does not attend a preschool please feel free to attend any of the times below or arrange to have the vaccination at your general practice:
| Tuesday 15 October 9.15am- 6.00pm St Davids Union Church 48 Allens Rd Ashburton | Wednesday 16 October 9.15am - 6.00pm St Davids Union Church 48 Allens Rd Ashburton | Wednesday 23 October 9.30am -12.30pm Mt Hutt Memorial Hall Methven | Wednesday 23 October 2.15pm -4.15pm Rakaia Memorial Hall Rakaia |
Caregivers need to complete a consent form before attending a clinic. These can be collected from your child’s preschool, your General Practice team, or can be downloaded from http://www.cdhb.health.nz/News/Pages/Vaccination-clinics-to-halt-spread-of-hep-A-.aspx
ENDS
Canterbury DHB
CDHB
Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) is a Christchurch, New Zealand based hospital and healthcare provider for the
Canterbury region of New Zealand. Our region extends from Kekerengu in the North, to Rangitata in the South and Arthurs Pass in the West and comprises the six Territorial Local Authorities of Kaikoura, Hurunui, Waimakariri, Christchurch City, Selwyn and Ashburton.
We collaborate with other health and disability organisations, stakeholders and our community to decide what health and disability services are needed and how to best use the funding we receive from Government to improve, promote and protect the health, wellbeing and independence of our population.
At the Canterbury DHB, our vision is to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in Canterbury.
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