Nursery children at a Solihull primary school are not being offered vaccinations against hepatitis A despite four infant school pupils being diagnosed with the virus.
The four cases at St Alphege Church of England Infants were confirmed by the Health Protection Agency and revealed in yesterday’s Birmingham Post.
A spokesman for the HPA said all staff and pupils at the school were being offered vaccination as a precautionary measure. But the parent of a child in the nursery at St Alphege Infants said their youngsters were not being offered immunisation against hepatitis A.
“This is despite them being more vulnerable, being so much younger, and many have just recovered from chickenpox so have low immunity at the moment.”
The parent, who did not want to be named, said children attending the nursery were excluded because there was no apparent risk of cross-contamination between the two buildings.
However, the parent claimed that a number of children from the infants and nursery shared dining tables and toilet facilities.
“Any risk at all is unacceptable in my book and not all parents can afford to pay to have their children inoculated privately,” the parent said.
The Health Protection Agency spokesman confirmed: “It is the case that nursery children are not being offered screening.
“But it was felt by our consultant who visited the school that it wasn’t necessary because they have very little contact with each other.
“The vaccinations were only being offered as an extra precaution and it is also important to remember that it is a mild condition.”
The original source of the hepatitis A infection remains unknown.
