The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services allocated $500,000 in funding to 25 county health departments to bolster local vaccine efforts amid an ongoing hepatitis A outbreak, according to a March 26 release.
Each county health department received a $20,000 grant to increase vaccination outreach to populations at high-risk for contracting hepatitis A, such as the homeless and illicit drug users.
"This has been the largest person-to-person hepatitis A outbreak in Michigan's history, with more than 780 cases," said Eden Wells, MD, the chief medical executive for MDHHS. "Increasing vaccination outreach to high-risk populations across the state is essential to stopping the spread of hepatitis A in Michigan."
As of March 21, health officials recorded 789 hepatitis A infections related to the outbreak, which began in August 2016. The illnesses have contributed to 635 hospitalizations and 25 deaths. Michigan's hepatitis A outbreak is the deadliest among several other such outbreaks occurring in multiple states around the nation, according to Michigan Radio. Other states with hepatitis A outbreaks include California, Kentucky and Utah.
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