Hepatitis A outbreak declared in L.A.

1 week ago

Hepatitis A outbreak declared successful L.A. L.A. County has declared an outbreak of Hepatitis A owed to a spike successful cases complete nan past twelvemonth and information showing an summation successful wastewater. Health officials aren't judge what's down nan emergence successful cases.

Hep A outbreak declared successful LA

L.A. County has declared an outbreak of Hepatitis A owed to a spike successful cases complete nan past twelvemonth and information showing an summation successful wastewater. Health officials aren't judge what's down nan emergence successful cases.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Health officials successful Los Angeles County person declared an outbreak of hepatitis A. The number of cases tripled from 2023 to 2024, and arsenic NPR's Will Stone reports, location are immoderate concerning trends.

WILL STONE, BYLINE: Hepatitis A is simply a viral infection of nan liver, often dispersed done person-to-person interaction aliases contaminated nutrient and h2o owed to mediocre hygiene and sanitation. People shed nan microorganism successful their stool and inadvertently walk it connected if they don't lavation their hands.

SHARON BALTER: Often seen successful travelers, successful group who are experiencing homelessness aliases group who are constituent abusers.

STONE: That's Dr. Sharon Balter astatine nan LA County Department of Public Health. She says, altogether, location person been 165 cases reported since nan commencement of past year.

BALTER: When nan outbreak started, we were mostly seeing it successful group who had those consequence factors.

STONE: And nan infections tended to beryllium geographically concentrated, galore of them successful downtown LA. But that's changed recently.

BALTER: We're seeing little of that and much of it successful places wherever we're not wholly judge wherever group sewage nan virus.

STONE: And they're uncovering it successful group pinch nary evident consequence factors. Because it has a agelong incubation period, Balter says it tin beryllium tricky to way chains of transmission. The symptoms tin see fever, tiredness, tummy pain, nausea, vomiting and jaundice. Dr. Timothy Brewer astatine UCLA says, mostly successful nan U.S., which has bully sanitation systems and nationalist h2o supplies, nan chance of catching hepatitis A is low. The CDC estimates location were astir 3,300 infections nationwide during 2023.

TIMOTHY BREWER: Most group person self-limited disease, truthful you tin consciousness beautiful miserable for respective months. But beautiful overmuch everybody gets better.

STONE: In uncommon instances, though, nan unwellness tin beryllium fatal, successful peculiar for nan elderly, those who are immunocompromised aliases already person liver disease. And 7 group person died during nan LA outbreak. While it's not clear what's down these caller cases...

BREWER: If I had to guess, it's much apt owed to a contaminated nutrient root than contaminated surfaces.

STONE: Brewer says nan bully news present is that a vaccine exists.

BREWER: With astir 100% effectiveness and fundamentally gives you lifelong immunity.

STONE: It didn't go modular of attraction till astir 25 years ago, truthful galore adults person ne'er been vaccinated, which is why LA wellness officials are recommending group see getting nan shots, particularly if they're astatine precocious risk.

Will Stone, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF APHEX TWIN'S "AVRIL 14TH")

Accuracy and readiness of NPR transcripts whitethorn vary. Transcript matter whitethorn beryllium revised to correct errors aliases lucifer updates to audio. Audio connected npr.org whitethorn beryllium edited aft its original broadcast aliases publication. The charismatic grounds of NPR’s programming is nan audio record.