ST. LOUIS (AP) _ Officials are raising concerns that a hepatitis A outbreak in
Missouri could worsen if the liver disease spreads to urban areas.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that officials are urging at-risk people,
such as recreational drug users and the homeless, to get vaccinated. The
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said Wednesday that the state
has recorded 414 cases in 35 counties since September 2017, mostly in the
southeast part of the state. Only about 10 cases per year were reported before
then.
Health officials say the virus has sent 233 people to the hospital and caused
two deaths.
Hepatitis A is a viral infection. It usually spreads when a person ingests the
virus from objects, food or drinks contaminated by undetected amounts of stool
from an infected person.
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