Hols seafood caused Kai’s hep A liver hell
A TEENAGER has been left with a debilitating liver disease after catching hepatitis A from infected seafood on holiday.
Kai McCulloch, 13, was just seven when they ate fish while on a family holiday in Mallorca in 2015.
After returning home to Scotland, Kai, who identifies as gender fluid, developed serious stomach pains and nose bleeds.
The family went to A&E to try to work out what was wrong but could get no answers. Eventually a doctor organised a biopsy to determine if Kai had hepatitis A.
Doctors believed the illness had been triggered by eating the infected fish.
Hepatitis A is not always serious and can be treated, but Kai’s symptoms worsened. Their spleen had became swollen and, despite doctors saying things would improve, tests revealed Kai had an overlap of autoimmune hepatitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a form of liver disease which attacks the bile ducts and can have life-debilitating effects.
The nose bleeds Kai had been suffering were a result of heavy blood clots from the virus.
Kai, of Clydebank, now lives with the deadly condition which causes their immunity to be severely low. Small illnesses can risk deadly infection, including pneumonia and sepsis.
Mum Elaine McCulloch, 39, said Kai’s illness has devastated the family after Kai suffered an abscess and was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.
Elaine added: “When you get the news your child has got a lifedebilitating illness, it’s devastating. It rips your heart right out.”
Kai now takes multiple forms of medication but it is unclear whether they will need a liver transplant in the future. They are raising money for the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, who have supported the family.