[ad_1]
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Authorities fear that the outbreak of hepatitis A in Missouri can worsen if liver disease spreads to urban areas.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that authorities are urging people at risk, such as recreational drug users and the homeless, to be vaccinated. The Missouri Department of Health and Seniors said Wednesday that the state had registered 414 cases in 35 counties since September 2017, mostly in the southeast of the state. Only about 10 cases per year have been reported previously.
Health officials said the virus had sent 233 people to the hospital and caused two deaths.
Hepatitis A is a viral infection. It usually spreads when a person ingests the virus from objects, food or drink contaminated with undetected amounts of stool from an infected person.
___
Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com
[ad_2]
Source link