Winnipeg doctor alarmed by growing hepatitis A outbreak in Manitoba

A Winnipeg doctor says he's alarmed about a growing hepatitis A outbreak in Manitoba that's led to nearly 400 cases and feels the province's response has been muted.

Dr. Glen Drobot said in more than 20 years as a physician, he saw only a handful of hepatitis A cases. In the last two months, he's already seen four more.

"There's not been a lot of talk about this in public and about how vaccination is extremely important," Drobot, an internal medicine specialist who does consulting work at Concordia and Victoria hospitals, told CBC News this week. 

He encountered a case in December, much to his surprise.

"I did not know that there was an ongoing hepatitis A outbreak in Manitoba," said Drobot, who then followed up with colleagues and found news articles online.

Since then, he's seen three more patients in Winnipeg sick with the acute liver infection.

All identified as Indigenous, and had no clear connections or recent travel to communities that experienced outbreaks, including the four Island Lake First Nations and Peguis First Nation, Drobot said.

"I worry that we're having spread of it within many different communities in our province."

Some colleagues share his concerns, and Drobot said he's speaking out to raise awareness about the outbreak and its risks.

The Manitoba government declined CBC's request for an interview with a public health official.

In a statement, a provincial spokesperson said Manitoba is monitoring the outbreak and working to keep the community and its partners informed about prevention and response measures. Those include contact tracing and immunization, through "clear, co-ordinated messaging."

The infectious liver disease is caused by the hepatitis A virus, which has an average incubation period of 28 days, according to the federal government, and can spread through food and drinking water contaminated with feces from an infected person.

People may develop mild to severe symptoms, such as fever, nausea, vomiting, and jaundice.

As of Feb. 17, there were 388 cases linked to Manitoba's outbreak, including three within the corrections system at Headingley Correctional Centre and the Winnipeg Remand Centre in December and January, a provincial spokesperson said.