CHILDREN at a school in Tyldesley have been put on alert following an outbreak of Hepatitis A.

The usually non-fatal disease, which is transferred by contact with carriers, was found in two nine year-olds, a boy and a girl, at Shakerley CE Primary School.

But the youngsters were back in school this week after the half-term break.

Shakerley head Anthea Ladd said today that parents had been alerted but stressed they had been told there was no need to panic provided a strict personal hygiene code was followed.

She said: "The children have both recovered. One returned to school on Monday the other on Tuesday. All parents have been sent fact sheets to raise the awareness of personal hygiene and advised there is no need to panic."

Hygiene

Hepatitis A most often causes stomach aches, vomiting and jaundice but a five-year-old girl from a school in Ince had an adverse reaction to the virus last week, sparking a health scare.

Schoolgirl Leah Cunliffe had to undergo a liver transplant after being diagnosed with the disease at St William's RC Primary School.

The new outbreak has prompted teachers throughout the borough to step up hygiene among pupils, according to Dr Robert Aston, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control for Wigan and Bolton Health Authority.

But he stressed that Hepatitis A was only as harmful as the common cold and should not be confused with the B and C strains.

He said: "Many people who get it will not even fall ill. The case of the schoolgirl in Ince was one-in-a-million. I have certainly never come across such a reaction in my 30 years of experience."