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Hepatitis A Outbreak Spreads To Broward County

Kuni Takahashi
/
TFW Chicago Tribune file
Andy Yeoh of National Disaster Medical System in Tuscon prepares an immunization shot for Hepatitis A at a medical camp in Chalmette, La., that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Hepatitis A is spreading across the state, and the disease has now reached outbreak level in Broward County.

On Thursday, the Broward County Health Department confirmed there have been seven cases of adults with Hepatitis A since the first of the year, making Broward a high-risk zone like the counties to the north.

Broward’s reported cases follows Palm Beach and Martin counties, which confirmed this week that they had reached the outbreak threshold of five cases, making them high-risk zones.

In Martin County, the health agency has announced its latest confirmed case of the liver disease, bringing the total to 16, at least since the first of the year. Eleven of the Martin County cases have occurred since April 1. The total represents the largest number of Hepatitis A cases recorded in Martin County in the past five years.

On Tuesday Palm Beach County reported six cases, with five of them recorded within the past 50 days. Health department officials say they are scouting for the source of the communicable disease of the liver. Statewide, 690 cases had been reported in 2019 through the end of March.

Read more at the Sun Sentinel

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