State health officials are warning of a hepatitis A outbreak that has claimed one life among the homeless and drug users.
The Department of Public Health will hold a call tomorrow with officials from boards of health across the state to discuss the 65 cases reported since April 3. Of the cases, 45 percent were in Boston, with an increasing number in other cities and towns, including in the Metro Boston area, officials said.
The number of cases spiked from mid-August to mid-September — the last week for which statistics were available yesterday — with a high of 12 cases in the first week of September, according to DPH.
“Right now, we anticipate we’re going to see cases until we can get enough people vaccinated,” said Dr. Catherine Brown, state epidemiologist.
DPH issued a public health alert yesterday urging local health departments and agencies that serve the homeless and people with substance use disorder to educate them about the health risks of hepatitis A, a communicable disease of the liver that is transmitted through fecal-oral contact.
The recent spike in hepatitis A is likely due to “unrecognized, asymptomatic spread,” said Jennifer Leaf Jaeger, director of the Infectious Disease Bureau at the Boston Public Health Commission. “It’s not that the virus is getting worse … It’s a very simple virus to treat: vaccine, hygiene and sanitation.”
Symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea, jaundice, grey stools and dark urine. There is no specific treatment for hepatitis A infection; most otherwise healthy people recover on their own, Brown said. And the disease can be prevented through vaccination and proper hand-washing, especially after using the toilet and before eating.
So far this year, more than 100 cases have been reported statewide, compared to the annual average of approximately 50, Brown said.
Most of those affected also have evidence of hepatitis C, a blood-borne infection highly associated with injection drug use, making their illness more severe, according to DPH.
In addition to educating people about the virus, the commission is making sure the vaccine is available in places such as emergency departments and Boston Healthcare for the Homeless clinics, and is encouraging shelters to increase cleaning with disinfectant and make hand sanitizer available.
Outbreaks have been reported among similar populations in at least 10 other states, “constituting thousands of cases nationwide,” said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Monica Bharel.
