San Diego County officials on Jan. 23 voted to end emergency status for the county's largest hepatitis A outbreak in 20 years.
The outbreak, which began in late 2016, had an outsized effect on the county's homeless and illicit drug using communities. As of Feb. 1, the outbreak has caused 578 infections, 396 hospitalizations and 20 deaths, according to the county's Health and Human Services agency.
Here are four things to know about the county's response to the outbreak.
1. County health officials declared the outbreak a public health emergency on Sept. 1, which spurred widespread vaccination and sanitation efforts.
2. As of Sunday, the county has administered more than 120,000 hepatitis A vaccinations. Health officials have not identified a new hepatitis A case related to the outbreak since Jan. 3, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
3. The county also prioritized efforts to improve sanitation, including the installation of hand-washing stations and portable toilets in areas where the homeless were known to regularly gather.
4. Kevin Faulconer, mayor of San Diego, told the Union-Tribune the vaccination efforts were the "single most effective thing we did to turn the tide during the hepatitis A crisis."
"We pulled out all the stops to raise public awareness about the importance of vaccinations," Mr. Faulconer told the Union-Tribune. "We offered free vaccines at libraries, had officers accompany nurses into homeless encampments, won state approval so our firefighter paramedics could administer vaccines and conducted a media blitz to get the word out every day. Some of those things were happening before, and it's clear that the extra push that began in September made all the difference."
To read the Union-Tribune's full report, click here.
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