The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services tallied 677 cases of hepatitis A among residents in the southeast portion of the state as of Jan. 10, marking a 94-case increase since Dec. 6, 2017.
The number of hospitalizations linked to the outbreak increased from 482 to 554 in the same time period. Health officials also added two additional deaths Jan. 10, bringing the outbreak's death toll to 22. The outbreak started in August 2016.
"[We] continue to see approximately 15-20 cases matching into the cluster every week," Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman for the Michigan health department told CNN via email. "The Michigan outbreak now includes 15 different county jurisdictions. We believe that person-to-person transmission is the primary route of infection."
Symptoms of hepatitis A include abdominal pain, low-grade fever, nausea, fatigue and jaundice. The virus is highly transmissible and most often spread via contact with fecal matter from an infected individual.
To learn more about hepatitis A, click here.
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