The Ministry of Public Health announced on Saturday “an increase in the number of cases of Hepatitis A, from the beginning of 2023 to date, compared to the same period last year, especially in the districts of Tripoli, Akkar, Minyeh-Dinniyeh and Baalbeck”. “The town of Ersal in particular, witnessed a significant increase in the number of cases. To date, 1785 cases were recorded in the country, including 204 in Baalbeck,” stated the Ministry of Public Health.
“The epidemiological surveillance team of the Ministry collects water samples from the areas with the most cases recorded to examine them in the water laboratories of government hospitals,” the Ministry of Health added.
It stressed that “the millennial viral hepatitis disease is endemic in Lebanon, which means that cases are recorded in more than one Lebanese region annually over the course of a year.”
Hepatitis A virus is transmitted through the fecal-oral route, especially through the consumption of contaminated water or food, and through contaminated hands. The incubation period (from the time the virus enters the human body until symptoms appear) ranges from 14 to 28 days.
Symptoms include fever (high temperature), yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), loss of appetite, diarrhea with pale stools, dark urine, and joint pain. Symptoms are often mild and inconspicuous in infants and young children.
Measures to prevent and control the disease include consuming food and water of safe origin (or chlorinating it when needed), maintaining personal hygiene, washing hands (especially before preparing and consuming food, after using the toilet and after changing diapers), and safely disposing of solid and liquid waste, in addition to receiving the vaccine.
