A mum has spoken of her concern after she was sent a letter warning about a possible case of hepatitis A at her son’s school.

Children at Warren Junior were given letters at home time on Monday which detailed how there might be a case of the viral illness at the school.

The 31-year-old mum, who lives in Dagenham and asked to remain anonymous, complained that parents were not offered advice about what they should do.

She said her son hasn’t been vaccinated so she wanted to keep him at home but was told she’d need a doctor’s letter in order to do so.

“It’s children’s lives that they are putting in danger and messing with,” she added.

“They want us to send our kids in as normal but I don’t want to send my son in now but I’m not allowed to keep him off.

“I’m very worried – it’s not a nice disease. Even if the child doesn’t show symptoms they can carry it and my elderly parents live with us.”

Hepatitis A is a virus which causes the liver to become swollen and tender. It is uncommon in the UK and cases are often associated with travel to countries where the infection is more widespread.

Matthew Cole, director of Public Health in the borough, explained Public Health England had been notified about a single case at the school and the patient is recovering at home.

He said parents of children in the same year group as the patient have been contacted and given information on the symptoms and how infection can be prevented with good hygiene.

Pupils at the Whalebone Lane North school handed out letters signed by Dr Edward Wynne Evans, a consultant in communicable disease control at Public Health England, which explained that it was “very unlikely” a single case could spread the infection to others.

The mum has tried to get her son vaccinated but was told by her GP that they would need to “get the go ahead” from the authority on the letter.

“From what I’ve Googled it says the disease can live for a month on surfaces so the school needs a deep cleansing or they should vaccinate all the children,” she added.

“As far as we know, the kids could already have it because it takes a while to come out. I think they should have said that if you want to keep your child at home tomorrow to keep your mind at rest that’s okay.”