On June 12, 2018, the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health sent Health Advisory #147 to health care providers, hospitals and other health care facilities. The advisory gave an update on the hepatitis A outbreak in the state, which was part of a multi-state outbreak.
The outbreak in June 2018
- As of June 8, 2018, West Virginia had 203 cases from 11 counties. Most cases came from Cabell, Kanawha and Putnam counties.
- About 70 percent of patients went to the hospital.
- From January 2017 to April 2018, CDC received more than 2,500 reports of hepatitis A spread from person to person in several states.
- In early June 2018 the state vaccinated inmates at the Western and Southcentral Regional Jails.
The advisory named the groups at high risk: people who use injection or non-injection drugs, people who are homeless or have unstable housing, people recently in jail or prison, and men who have sex with men.
What the state asked of doctors
- Report every hepatitis A diagnosis to the local health department where the patient lives within 24 hours.
- Think of hepatitis A in anyone with jaundice and symptoms that fit the disease.
- Vaccinate people within 2 weeks after exposure to a known case.
- Vaccinate people in high-risk groups, people with clotting factor disorders, and people with chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis B or hepatitis C.
The state closed the outbreak on August 24, 2020, after case numbers went back to normal levels.
In Kanawha County, the county health department held hepatitis A vaccine clinics through 2018. See hepatitis A clinics, KCEAA schedules July 5-6 hep A clinics, hepatitis A linked to national multistate outbreak and Health Advisory #153.
This guidance is from June 2018. It is kept here as a record and is not current advice. Check current guidance from the CDC or your doctor.