What You Need to Know About the Hepatitis A Outbreak in San Diego
Over 2017’s Labor Day weekend, San Diego county health officials finally declared that the ongoing Hepatitis A virus (HAV) outbreak, which began in November 2016, was now a local public health emergency. To date, the outbreak has caused 20 fatalities and almost 400 hospitalizations out of 577 reported cases. For concerned citizens, here are some key pieces of information you need to know about the ongoing health crisis.
What Is HAV?
This virus attacks the liver and is highly contagious. It could cause liver disease lasting from a few weeks to several months; however, it’s self-limited in that it does not lead to chronic infection. As this outbreak demonstrated, it can be fatal. Officials determined that the strain of HAV responsible for this outbreak is not common to the United States, but most likely originated in the Mediterranean, Turkey, or South Africa.
Symptoms of an HAV infection are not always present. Adults are more likely to show symptoms than children. Those under the age of 6 may seem to have an unidentified infection. Adult symptoms you might see include fever, loss of appetite, jaundice in the eyes, stomach pain, dark urine, pale stool, and more.
How Is It Spread?
The virus is passed through human touch. It is most often spread through the fecal-oral method or by consumption of contaminated food or water. If you touch an object handled by someone with HAV, you could become infected. It can also be passed by way of intimate contact or sex.
Vaccination and Hepatitis A
HAV is vaccine-preventable. In addition, those who are infected develop antibodies that last for life, preventing reinfection. San Diego County officials have been targeting vaccinations for at-risk populations and report it has vaccinated almost 120,000 people.
Prevention of Hepatitis A
To help fight the spread of HAV, county officials and the Human Services Agency have made hygiene kits available to help encourage hand washing. These kits include sanitizer, wipes, a bottle of water, some information about hygiene, and a trash bag. Any agency or community partner working with the homeless or illicit drug use populations at risk of contracting HAV who lack proper cleaning facilities may pick up these kits to pass out. County officials also encourage all these partners or agencies to inform the people they serve about vaccination and where they can get one. To date, the count reports that almost 10,700 kits have been distributed.
Should Citizens Worry?
As of January 2, 2018, county board supervisors extended the health emergency, but also reported starting efforts to transition out of emergency crisis mode, because case numbers were on the decline. A review of the ongoing emergency crisis mode reportedly is examined every two weeks to check for ongoing need. The number of new cases had plummeted in the past few months, from 84 a month over the summer to just seven in December. Officials at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) predict that vaccinations will allow the herd immunity tactic to prevail in stopping further spread of the disease.
We at Liljegren Law Group encourage anyone who has questions to speak with their medical provider and stay abreast of the outbreak news issued by San Diego County health officials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the CDPH.