The number of hepatitis A cases in the outbreak in West Virginia has risen to 1,031 as of Friday. The outbreak has prompted the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), Bureau for Public Health to request the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) technical assistance.
“At the direction of Governor Jim Justice, we have requested the CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention provide epidemiological assistance. The CDC will station six subject matter experts to manage this outbreak beginning this week”, according to Dr. Rahul Gupta, State Health Officer and Commissioner of DHHR’s Bureau for Public Health.
Of the more than 1,000 outbreak cases reported since March, more than half the people infected have required hospitalization (542). Two deaths have been recorded.
Slightly more than half the cases (534) have been reported from Kanawha County. Other counties reporting high numbers of cases include Cabell, Putnam, Boone and Wayne.
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