Health & Fitness

Hepatitis Case Spike In Illinois 'Concerning,' Affects Suburbs

Six more cases were reported in the last 10 days, bringing the statewide total to 75 this year.

ILLINOIS — Less than two weeks after announcing a hepatitis A outbreak in Illinois, the Illinois Department of Public Health said six new cases have been reported, including two cases in suburban Cook County. Three more cases were reported in east-central Illinois, and one was reported in central Illinois.

That brings the 2018 total to 75 confirmed hepatitis A cases in Illinois so far, higher than the average — about 70 cases — typically reported each year.

On Dec. 4, IDPH reported an outbreak of the illness involving five cases in east-central Illinois. Since then, new cases have more than doubled.

Find out what's happening in Across Illinoiswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“While we are only slightly above our annual average for the number of hepatitis A cases, the accelerated rate of new cases in Illinois, not only in the past week, but the past month, is concerning,” said IDPH Director Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D. “We encourage those at highest risk for infection, including men who have sex with men, homeless individuals, and those who use drugs, to get vaccinated against hepatitis A.”

Among the 75 cases this year, IDPH said 17 cases are part of an outbreak affecting individuals who fall into one or more of the groups at high risk for infection, have test results showing they match one of the U.S. outbreak strains or are connected to a person who meets one of the above categories.

Find out what's happening in Across Illinoiswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hepatitis A is an infection that can damage the liver, and is passed easily from one person to another through food, water, drug use and sex. It is a vaccine-preventable illness.

Symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay-colored bowel movements, joint pain and jaundice.

Unlike hepatitis B and C, hepatitis A infection does not cause chronic liver disease and is rarely fatal, according to the World Health Organization, but it can cause debilitating symptoms and fulminant hepatitis (acute liver failure), which is often fatal.

Several states across the U.S., including several bordering Illinois, are seeing large hepatitis A outbreaks including:

  • Indiana – 723 cases since September 2017
  • Kentucky – 3,021 cases since August 2017
  • Missouri – 234 cases since September 2017

In an effort to prevent hepatitis A outbreaks in Illinois, IDPH said it is working with 38 local health departments around the state covering 40 counties to make hepatitis A vaccine more readily available. IDPH has requested a large number of hepatitis A vaccines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Health officials said the vaccine is being delivered to numerous local health departments across Illinois to be available for free or at a reduced cost for people at the greatest risk of becoming infected.

Image via Shutterstock


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here