5 Hepatitis Cases Reported In IL; Health Dept Urges Vaccination

ILLINOIS — The Illinois Department of Public Health said five cases of hepatitis A were confirmed in November in east-central Illinois, bringing the total number of cases statewide to 69. Health officials are urging those who are at greatest risk of contracting the illness to get vaccinated.

“These recent cases are a reminder that states across the country, including states bordering Illinois, have been seeing hepatitis A outbreaks,” 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.”

On average, 70 cases of hepatitis A are reported in Illinois each year.

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.

In an effort to prevent hepatitis A outbreaks in Illinois, IDPH said it is working with 37 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.

According to the CDC, from January 2017 to April 2018, there have been more than 2,500 reports of hepatitis A infections in multiple states. Of the more than 1,900 reports for which risk factors are known, more than 1,300 (68 percent) people infected reported drug use (injection and non-injection), homelessness, or both. Men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, and people who do not have a home should check with their health department about a free or reduced-cost hepatitis A vaccine.

Hepatitis A isn't the only vaccine-preventable disease seeing a resurgence in Illinois. The CDC has reported an outbreak of measles in Illinois and 26 other states, and on Tuesday, officials at Lewis University in Romeoville reported a mumps outbreak on the campus.

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