North Carolina Physicians and health officials are investigation a new strain of hepatitis A, according to 7News.
"With this recent outbreak, we have seen more deaths related to hepatitis A, so that's made us more aware of it and wanting to react," Andrew Muir, MD, professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology in the Department of Medicine at Durham, N.C.-based Duke University's School of Medicine, told 7News.
North Carolina reported its first death attributed hepatitis A in October, which spread through food or water contaminated with a trace amount of feces from a person who was contagious.
Sixty-four hepatitis A cases have been reported this year, and about half of those people were admitted to the hospital.
"If you are concerned that you might have hepatitis A, be seen. Reach out and get evaluated so that you can get good care and get nursed through the infection," Dr. Muir told 7News.
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