Free Republic

Since late summer 2016, hepatitis A has had an increased presence across the United States. While San Diego’s hepatitis A outbreak caused headlines in 2017, the disease isn’t just contained to Southern California. So far in 2018, seven states reported cases of the food and water-borne disease. Among those states, Utah, Michigan and Kentucky reported the most cases. Hepatitis A is a virus that attacks the liver and causes jaundice. Once infected, the disease can cause nausea, vomiting, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain. It is extremely contagious and usually spread through unsanitary food and water. On rare...

California declared a state of emergency Friday after a deadly hepatitis A outbreak has spread faster than the state’s ability to supply the vaccine that can ward off the disease. The declaration allows the state to “increase its supply of hepatitis A vaccines in order to control the current outbreak,” Gov. Jerry Brown said in a statement, according to CBS News. So far, 581 people in California have been sickened with disease, which targets the liver. Hepatitis A is potentially fatal for people who with liver diseases, such as hepatitis B or C.

Hepatitis A, spread by fecal contamination, has killed 16 people and sickened 421 since November. An outbreak of hepatitis A, a dangerous but preventable disease that is spread through fecal contamination and attacks the liver, has gotten so out of hand in San Diego that the county government is handing out plastic poop bags and washing the streets with bleach. (Emphasis mine) The outbreak has killed 16 people and infected 421 since November, ravaging San Diego’s large homeless and illicit drug-using population. It could eventually cost the county health department up to a million dollars, a local health official estimated....

Hepatitis A Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus. Mild cases can last a few weeks while severe cases can last several months. Los Angeles County is experiencing an outbreak of hepatitis A. The majority of cases are occurring in individuals who are homeless and/or use illicit drugs. Outbreaks of hepatitis A in persons who are homeless and/or use illicit drugs are also occurring in San Diego and Santa Cruz counties.

San Diego County’s hepatitis A outbreak shows no signs of slowing, according to the latest update released Tuesday by the county Health and Human Services Agency. The outbreak’s death total rose to 16 — one more than last week’s total. The number of confirmed cases reached 421, up 23 from last week. The number of hospitalizations also pushed higher, reaching 292 from 279 the week before.

About 250 immigrant children were given an adult dose of a hepatitis A vaccine at a Texas detention facility where they were being held with their mothers, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. The vaccines were administered this week, but none of the children has been hospitalized or had any adverse reactions, ICE officials said Saturday. ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said health care professionals will monitor the children over the next five days for any potential side effects, though none are expected. "Parents at the facility were advised and counseled by medical professionals about potential side effects, with...

During last summer’s border crisis, left-wing and mainstream media outlets mocked Americans who were concerned that illegal immigrants may be carrying disease like Tuberculosis. But in a story downplaying the measles threat from Mexico and Central America, the Los Angeles Times concedes that, “beyond measles, however, there are some serious diseases that are brought to the United States from Mexico and Central America.” Tuberculosis is chief among those diseases, according to the Times, which noted that “in 2013, 65% of the tuberculosis cases in the U.S. occurred among foreign-born people”: A majority of those people came from five countries: Mexico...