Arizona Hepatitis A Outbreak Breaks The 350 Mark
Published: Saturday, June 8, 2019 - 2:08pm
Updated: Sunday, June 9, 2019 - 8:11am
The Arizona Department of Health Services is reporting an outbreak of Hepatitis A has impacted eight counties across Arizona since November.
The disease is highly contagious but easily preventable with a vaccine according to Dr. Cara Christ with the Arizona Department of Health Services. She said one of the difficulties patients face is how long it can take for symptoms to become noticeable.
“Hepatitis A outbreak is more difficult to control because the incubation period for it is so long," Christ said. "It’s about 45 days from the time you contract the disease until you start showing symptoms.”
Christ says the outbreak is primarily impacting at-risk populations such as drug users, the homeless and people who have recently been incarcerated.
