Hepatitis A Outbreak Spreads To Boulder County

BOULDER COUNTY, CO — At least eight people have been diagnosed with hepatitis A in Boulder County, health officials announced Thursday. Since 2017 there has been an ongoing outbreak of hepatitis A in Colorado, and Boulder County Public Health staff are working to keep the disease from spreading.

To date in Colorado 308 people have been diagnosed with hepatitis A across 16 counties. Of those, 224 people have been hospitalized and 2 people have died.

Carol Helwig, Communicable Disease Control program manager for Boulder County Public Health, said staff members have traveled to remote parts of the county and have provided vaccination clinics after hours, on the weekends and at community gathering places.

“We’re grateful for the hard work of our staff who have been so dedicated to making sure residents in Boulder County are protected from this illness,” Helwig said in a statement. “This year alone, we’ve been able to provide the hepatitis A vaccination to 457 people in Boulder County who were at high risk of getting the disease. We’ve hosted 20 targeted vaccination clinics.”

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Hepatitis A is a liver infection caused by the very contagious hepatitis A virus. The disease usually spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food, or drinks that are contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool from an infected person. The disease also spreads through close, personal contact with an infected person, such as through sex, caring for someone who is ill, or sharing drugs or drug equipment (both injection and non-injection use) with someone who is ill.

“We partner with local organizations to provide free vaccine to anyone who might be at high risk for getting the disease,” said Helwig. “We know that hepatitis A is more likely to spread in conditions that are overcrowded or when there is little or no access to soap and water.”

Hepatitis A varies in severity, with mild illness lasting two weeks or less and more severe illness lasting four to six weeks or longer. Even mildly ill persons can be highly infectious. People who are older or have health problems are at higher risk of dying from hepatitis A.

Illness from the disease starts two to six weeks after being exposed by the virus. Symptoms commonly include mild fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tiredness, pain in the upper right side of the abdomen, dark urine and jaundice.

Vaccination is the best way to prevent hepatitis A; it is safe and highly effective, health officials said. Children routinely receive the vaccination, but because the vaccine wasn’t available until the mid-1990s, many adults have not been vaccinated. Hepatitis A vaccine is available at doctors’ offices and many retail pharmacies. People can check vaccinefinder.org to find a retail location that offers the vaccination.