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By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews
In Philadelphia on Thursday, Dr. Thomas Farley, a member of the Health Commission, said that the hepatitis A epidemic in Philadelphia was a public health emergency.
To date, in 2019, the Public Health Department of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health has confirmed 154 cases of acute hepatitis A disease, compared with the 3 reported reports observed between January and July from 2013 to 2017 the vast majority of cases since May (85%).
Preliminary surveys indicate a high proportion of adults who report having used drugs (67%) or ending up homeless (26%).
Farley has asked health care providers and government and non-government agencies to help vaccinate those most at risk of infection in order to put an end to the epidemic. As part of the Philadelphia Resilience Project, the City of Philadelphia will expand its own outreach activities to vaccinate homeless people and those most at risk.
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Since July 2018, the Department of Health has coordinated the vaccination of 1,775 people considered at risk and reported that more than 12,439 total hepatitis A vaccinations have been administered in the city. Because these efforts have not been enough to end the epidemic, the Department of Health has mobilized with this declaration of urgency to vaccinate tens of thousands of additional people at risk.
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Dr. Farley said, "We do not want anyone to contract Hepatitis A and we are able to stop this epidemic. Now that we have a safe and effective vaccine, the most important action we can take is that all high-risk people get vaccinated. This means that we need the help of health care providers and others who consult these people to offer them the vaccine. "
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