South Carolina declares statewide outbreak of hepatitis A after 4-fold increase in cases
A four-fold increase in the number of cases of hepatitis A has led South Carolina health officials to declare a statewide outbreak and call for stepped up vaccination among at-risk groups.
“We have met the definition of an outbreak in South Carolina based on an increase in the number of cases we’d expect to see in a given time frame,” Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Protection, told The Greenville News.
“This also allows us to take some pro-active measures to prevent the ongoing spread.”
The state typically sees about 19 cases of hepatitis A a year, but has recorded more than four times that number in the past seven months, Bell said.
Read more: https://www.independentmail.com/story/news/2019/05/13/hepatitis-increases-four-fold-sc-dhec-declares-state-outbreak/1189512001/
(Anderson Independent Mail)