Five locally acquired cases of hepatitis A infection and an additional case that may also have been acquired locally have been reported to Public Health – Seattle & King County since November 2018. These cases add to three other hepatitis A cases reported in July 2018 for a total of nine cases in less than […]
You have probably heard about the hepatitis A outbreaks occurring around the country. These outbreaks primarily have affected people living homeless or unsheltered, or people who inject drugs. Although conditions that would facilitate a large hepatitis A outbreak exist locally, we have not had an outbreak among persons experiencing homelessness or who use injection drugs […]
Public Health is currently responding to increases in several infectious diseases in King County that particularly affect people living homeless. These diseases include group A streptococcal infections, Shigella, and a cluster of serious infections transmitted by body lice called Bartonella quintana. We sat down with Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer and Chief of Communicable Disease […]
Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by a highly contagious virus. A large outbreak in San Diego, along with outbreaks in Los Angeles and in Salt Lake City has Public Health officials concerned that a hepatitis A outbreak could occur in King County. Dr. Jeff Duchin, King County’s Health Officer, explains who’s at risk […]