At least 75 people in Utah have contracted hepatitis A since May, representing the state's worst outbreak in years, according to a report from The Salt Lake Tribune.
The outbreak, centered in Salt Lake County, has had an outsized affect on the homeless population due to poor hygiene and unsanitary living conditions.
"Our greatest concern with the outbreak is that it will leap into another population, or into the general population, and the outbreak will grow exponentially," said Nicholas Rupp, a spokesman for the Salt Lake County Health Department, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Utah's outbreak is comparable to two other ongoing hepatitis A outbreaks in California and Michigan. All outbreaks have primarily impacted the states' homeless and illicit drug user populations and are currently being monitored by the CDC. The California outbreak has caused 644 cases, 420 hospitalizations and 21 deaths as of Nov. 3. Officials in Michigan tallied 495 cases, 416 hospitalizations and 19 deaths as of Nov. 7.
While more than half of the cases in Utah have resulted in hospitalizations, no deaths have been reported. However, Utah's outbreak is the newest of the three.
"If we look at the examples that have occurred in other jurisdictions, we can expect this to be a long-term response," said Jeff Eason, a viral hepatitis epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
To learn more about hepatitis A, click here.
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