SANTA CRUZ COUNTY — Santa Cruz County Public Health Officer Dr. Arnold Leff on Tuesday declared an end to the hepatitis A outbreak that began afflicting local patients in April 2017.
Overall, Santa Cruz County saw 76 confirmed cases of hepatitis A, including one death where hepatitis A was a contributing factor.
To address the outbreak, the county conducted widespread outreach with the public, local businesses and impacted populations, consulted with top state public health officials and held several free vaccine clinics.
“I’d like to thank the public and especially our staff, who worked extraordinarily hard to prevent this outbreak from becoming even worse,” Leff said. “To prevent future outbreaks, it is imperative that we maintain public awareness and our sanitation infrastructure. We also urge people at risk of contracting hepatitis A, including drug users and people who live in unsanitary conditions, or individuals who have sexual contact with those populations, to seek vaccinations through their medical provider or a local safety-net clinic.”
However, at the same time, Monterey County health officials announced Monday an outbreak of hepatitis A among the homeless population.
According to Karen Smith of the Monterey County Health Department, hepatitis A has been diagnosed in nine individuals with a history of homeless in Monterey County since October.
These individuals did not travel outside of Monterey County, so they are assumed to have become ill due to transmission within the homeless and illegal drug use communities in Monterey County.
“Despite our efforts, hepatitis A continues to spread among the at-risk population,” Monterey County’s Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno said. “To stop the outbreak, we must as a community collectively increase our efforts to end transmission of the hepatitis A virus.”
Hepatitis A is spread through person-to-person contact and is potentially fatal for medically vulnerable persons. Through January, there have been 1,577 cases across three states, including 45 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For information, visit www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/Hepatitis-A-Outbreak.aspx.
