Chickenpox scare at Drogheda hotel housing asylum seekers as HSE issues urgent health warning
The incident was reported by Public Health Dublin and North East and a warning sent to all medical staff at hospitals and Doctors On Call in the area. So far children and one adult have been affected.
A suspected chickenpox outbreak has occurred at the D-Hotel in Drogheda where over 200 asylum seekers are staying.
The incident was reported by Public Health Dublin and North East and a warning sent to all medical staff at hospitals and Doctors On Call in the area. So far children and one adult have been affected.
In a warning note issued to staff, the HSE said: "There is a possibility that some individuals with fever rash illness may attend your services - emergency department or out of hours service. The outbreak has affected children and adult.
"If these residents do attend for clinical consultation we request that appropriate samples be taken from these individuals in order for accurate diagnosis to inform and guide the public health action. For rashes in which varicella (chickenpox) is suspected we request Serum samples and Skin lesion swabs be taken for PCR testing."
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The medical teams have been urged to inform Public Health of suspected cases using their emergency email.
Migrants were moved into the D Hotel in the centre of downtown Drogheda a few months ago despite objections from local people. It was the last hotel open to tourists in the town at the time. It was to house over 500 people but the number was halved because of planning and fire safety issues.
The hotel is currently being used as a transit centre for International Protection Applicants. Families are brought there after arriving in Ireland to claim asylum before being moved on to other locations nationwide.
The HSE said around 58,000 people on average get chickenpox in Ireland every year. One in every 250 cases end up being hospitalised. The disease can be serious and cause severe complications and death for people with weak immune systems.
The risk of death to children is 1 in 100,000 but rises to 25.2 per 100,000 in adults especially in the 30 to 49 year old age group. Approximately 1 in 3 people who get chickenpox will develop the Shingles later in life due to the reactivation of the virus.
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