According to a newly-released health department update, California reports a Hepatitis “A” outbreak and is one of the largest that our country has experienced in decades. Many have died in San Diego in the past few month and over 500 people have been diagnosed with the liver infection according to the county Health and Human Services Agency. It is now spreading to the Los Angeles and Santa Cruz counties where an additional almost 100 cases at this time have been identified.
This outbreak is not blamed on contaminated food but rather the lack of basic hygiene and sanitation in the tent cities where the homeless live and drug-using residents. Health officials are rushing to vaccinate the homeless population and in san Diego, cleaning crews are using bleach products to pressure wash the sidewalks and street to sanitize surfaces contaminated with blood and feces. Nearly 100 hand-washing stations and additional portable toilets have been installed around the region.
This virus has an incubation period of five to 50 days and there are cases that haven’t started to show symptoms yet. As of last week, the county reported that 68,500 hepatitis “A” vaccinations have been administered since March.
Hepatitis “A” is spread when a person would swallow even a tiny amount of feces from an infected person. Proper hand washing with warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds after using the bathroom kills the virus.
This article is related to: October 17, 2018 San Diego Union Tribune
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/hepatitis-crisis/sd-me-hepatitis-19-story.html
Diseases and Illnesses Hepatitis U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
