P

angkajene Islands (Pangkep) Health Agency in South Sulawesi has declared a health emergency (KLB) in the regency following reports of dozens of students suffering from hepatitis A.

The disease was detected at SMAN 2 state senior high school in Pangkep, where 93 students were said to be infected.

Around 30 of the students are still being treated at Pangkep General Hospital, while the rest are undergoing out-patient treatment.

Pangkep Health Office head Indriati Latif said the disease had spread. Besides students from SMAN 2, a number of students from SMAN 1 and SMPN 2 junior high school were also reported to be suffering from hepatitis A.

'€œThis is a KLB due to the significant number of cases. We have reported this to the South Sulawesi Health Agency,'€ Indriati said on Wednesday.

She added that hepatitis A was a contagious disease caused by a virus that was spread through food and air, with it easily infecting people who were already unwell.

'€œPangkep SMAN 2 is a top school. Students do extra study so when they get tired and their energy drops, the virus can infect them. That'€™s why many students have been infected by the disease,'€ said Indriati.

The outbreak was revealed early this week when Pangkep SMAN 2 principal Firdaus A. Noor received a report from a teacher on Monday that many students were sick and had been receiving treatment in hospital since Sunday.

It turned out that they had contracted hepatitis A.

 Firdaus said some students who went to school on Monday had also suffered from fevers, headaches and nausea, which made the school management concerned.

 '€œWe immediately called the local health office to conduct examinations in our school and based on the results, a number of students who had their blood samples analyzed tested positive for hepatitis A,'€ he said on Wednesday.

The examinations were conducted until Tuesday, but the number of affected students increased. Some of them were even brought to hospital by their parents.

'€œAs of Wednesday, 93 students have been infected by the disease,'€ Firdaus said.

To prevent the disease from spreading, the school has canceled classes from Wednesday to Saturday, during which an intensive cleaning and sterilization operation will take place at the school.

The school'€™s canteen will also close and its equipment will be cleaned.

Indriati said the source of the infection remained unclear as her office was still waiting for the food sample analysis conducted by her office and the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).

'€œHopefully, the test results will be available by Thursday,'€ said Indriati.

The health office has advised the families of patients infected by hepatitis A to not mix eating utensils used by patients and family members to prevent infections. Parents have also been urged to arrange vaccinations for their children.

However, Indriati said the cost of vaccinations was still considered expensive as it was not covered by the government.

'€œEach shot costs Rp 600,000 [US$49] and it is not covered by the free health program,'€ said Indriati.

Since the hepatitis A outbreak had been categorized as a KLB, she expected that the Pangkep regency administration would assist with handling the disease by covering the cost of vaccinations.

She said if it was not immediately handled, patients could suffer from high fever and liver disorders, as the virus attacked the heart of a patient.