There were 3,395 hepatitis A cases reported in Florida last year, nearly three times the number of cases reported in the state in the last five years combined, the state's health department reported.
From 2014 through 2018, Florida reported a combined total of 1,175 hepatitis A cases. The number of reported cases more than doubled from 2016 to 2017 and nearly doubled again in 2018.
Last August, Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees, MD, declared the hepatitis A outbreak in the state a public health emergency.
Florida county health departments administered 128,110 vaccinations and noncounty health departments administered 174,307 vaccinations last year.
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection. Symptoms include jaundice, fever and diarrhea. It is typically transmitted from close personal contact with an infected person or via consumption of contaminated food or water.
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