At least one student at a local high school has been infected with hepatitis A. A letter warning of confirmed cases of hepatitis A was sent home with students at Charles Spencer High School.
Alberta Health Services says hepatitis A is an infection of the liver caused by a virus. They add that most people who get hepatitis A disease recover in about one month but sometimes it can take 6 to 12 months to get better with rare cases being severe enough to cause death.
They add that there is no specific treatment for hepatitis A but there is a vaccine that is effective in preventing the infection.
AHS says hepatitis A is spread through contaminated food or water. Ways to prevent spread is thorough hand washing after using the bathroom or changing diapers as well as before handling food.
There were confirmed cases in other schools in the Peace Country earlier in the year including Hythe Regional School which was confirmed in January 2016.