Two hepatitis A cases in Colorado are linked to an outbreak in San Diego County that has sickened more than 500 people in the county and resulted in 19 deaths, according to The Denver Post.
Health officials identified the two cases in the Western Slope region of the state and El Paso County. As of Oct. 20, Colorado has reported 58 hepatitis A cases for the year. In 2016, Colorado experienced a total of 23 hepatitis A cases.
"Of these, two cases have occurred in people experiencing homelessness," said Rachel Herlihy, MD, Colorado's state epidemiologist, according to The Denver Post. "Both these cases are linked to the ongoing outbreak in San Diego."
The San Diego County hepatitis A outbreak, which has had an outsized effect on the area's homeless population, has resulted in 516 infections, 357 hospitalizations and 19 deaths, as of Oct. 19. The outbreak has spread to other parts of Southern California, including Santa Cruz and Los Angeles.
Symptoms of hepatitis A infection 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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