Hepatitis Outbreak Confirmed In PA, Pittsburgh Hard-Hit By Virus

A hepatitis outbreak is occurring in Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are the hardest-hit areas, the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced Monday.

New cases of hepatitis A have been reported in every county in southeastern Pennsylvania dating back to Jan. 2018. All told, there have been 171 cases confirmed during that time across 36 counties; Philadelphia had as many as 50 cases, while Allegheny County had as many as 31.

"The number of cases this year, in 2019, is already 60," Department of Health Secretary Rachel Levine said Monday. "And that is double where it was at this time last year."

Hepatitis A, a liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus, comes to the Keystone State as it continues its resurgence nationwide . The highly contagious viral disease is typically spread when someone unknowingly ingests food or drinks contaminated by small, undetected amounts of contaminated feces from the infected person. This is sometimes seen in the food industry and is one reason that proper hygiene — specifically, hand-washing — is of vital importance.

"Transmission is predominantly by direct person-to-person contact, related to crowding and poor hygiene," according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease is preventable with proper vaccination, though. As such, America's hepatitis A rates plummeted once vaccinations became widely available in 1996.

However, that trend is reversing, both in Pennsylvania and nationwide. Since July 2016, more than 8,000 outbreak cases have been reported. An increase in Pennsylvania was first reported by the state back in Nov. 2018, while outbreaks were reported in neighboring New Jersey and other states over the past several months.

Most adults with hepatitis A have symptoms, including fatigue, low appetite, stomach pain, nausea, and jaundice, that usually resolve within two months of infection; most children less than 6 years of age do not have symptoms or have an unrecognized infection, according to the CDC.

The state has launched an information portal on the Department of Health website.
For the location of a vaccination site near you, see here

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With reporting from Patch correspondent Daniel Hampton.