According to Florida Health, hepatitis A is caused by a contagious virus that infects the liver and can lead to serious liver problems. The virus spreads through the feces of people who have the virus, and if a person with the virus doesn’t wash their hands after going to the bathroom, feces can get on their hands and can transfer to objects, food and drinks, where other people can unknowingly swallow the virus. The virus can also spread between people who come into close contact, including through sex.
The areas with the biggest upticks last week were Volusia and Citrus counties, which had an additional seven and five cases, respectively, according to a running News Service of Florida analysis of the weekly data. That brought the total number of cases this year in Volusia and Citrus counties to 251 and 76, respectively.
Orange County has had 172 cases so far in 2019.
Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees issued a Public Health Emergency in August to address the massive increase in hepatitis A cases in Florida over the past year. Hepatitis A is a virus that affects the liver and can be deadly. It is spread through such things as food or drinks that have been contaminated with fecal matter from people with hepatitis A, or from close contact with infected people. It also can be spread through sex and intravenous drug use.
This article appears in Put a Ring on It.