WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) – Health officials say Palm Beach are Martin counties are considered high risk for hepatitis A after several cases have been reported.

Palm Beach County Department of Health spokesman Alex Shaw confirmed that six cases have now been confirmed in this country and that the agency believed that a community was at risk once it was over. There were five confirmed cases.

The Palm Beach Post reports that 16 cases have been confirmed in neighboring Martin County since the beginning of 2019.

Renay Rouse of the Martin County Health Authority says the county's total is the highest in five years.

Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection. It spreads when a person ingests the virus from objects, food or drink contaminated by the feces of an infected person.