Typhoid fever outbreak in Gwent (From Stroud News and Journal)

Typhoid fever outbreak in Gwent

THREE teenagers are being treated in the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, following an outbreak of typhoid fever.

The three, believed to be from the Pill area, are said to be "stable" and, in this case, their condition is not thought to be life-threatening.

They are being kept separate from other patients while they are treated for the illness. Newport council is leading the public health investigation into the cause of the outbreak in conjunction with Gwent Health Authority and the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (Wales).

A Newport council spokeswoman said: "We can confidently say the source is not the mains water supply because of the small number of cases so far."

She added they had not established the source and encouraged anyone suffering from a fever for up to seven days to see their GP.

Newport council's Dr Lika Nehal said: "Detailed investigations are continuing to enable us to identify the source of the cases. GPs have been informed as to the signs and symptoms to look for."

Spreading of the disease, the council stresses, can be avoided by good personal hygiene - especially washing hands after visiting the toilet.

News of the potentially life-threatening illness, which is usually confined to undeveloped countries and breeds through bacteria in sewage and water supplies, has been has been greeted with alarm by Pill residents.

Health chiefs have yet to establish the source of the outbreak. In a statement to the Argus a spokesman for Gwent NHS said the infection had not originated from the hospital. "They were taken to an isolated ward and barrier nursed while diagnosis was carried out to ensure that no other patients were put at risk. "The patients, believed to be from the Pill area, are stable and their illnesses are not life-threatening."

The spokesman added: "The health authority's public health department is trying to establish the cause of the outbreak which has not come from the hospital." Antibiotics are usually adequate to treat the disease but as many as 20 per cent may die from complications of the infection.

One worried Pill mother told the Argus last night that Gwent Health Authority had a duty to make the outbreak public.

She said: "We are all worried around here. I found out this morning that a child who had been ill for days was in hospital with typhoid fever.

Some people are afraid to speak out but I think this should be made public knowledge." Equally concerned that the community had not been told of the outbreak was former chairman of Pill Action Group, George Bullock who said: "I am very concerned this has not been made public as if people knew about it they could take precautions against it."