Rapid Vaccine Rollout Prevented a Hepatitis A Outbreak at LA County Jail – Hep Treatment News

After an incarcerated person tested positive for hepatitis A virus (HAV), a Los Angeles County jail system initiated a rapid response that helped minimize the risk for transmission and prevent an HAV outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

In May 2023, an incarcerated person tasked with food preparation in the jail tested positive for acute HAV. Within 48 hours of being notified about the infection, the Los Angeles Countys Correctional Health Services identified the more than 2,700 individuals who had been in the jail during the roughly three-week infectious period, who were offered postexposure prophylactic HAV.

HAV is spread from one person to another when fecal matter from someone with HAV gets into another persons mouth. Even trace amounts of fecesthat are too hard to see can cause an infection.Whats more, risk for HAV transmission in congregant housing like correctional institutions is high because of the high rate of injection drug use among incarcerated individuals.

The prompt vaccine rollout likely helpedreduce transmission and prevent an outbreak among the LA County Jail population, and the enhanced surveillance, which included the monitoring of emergency hospital transfers made because of suspicion of acute hepatitis A, helped identify possible secondary cases or clusters needing further investigation,wrote Nazia Qureshi, MPH,of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, and coauthors in the report.

The 41-year-old incarcerated man with HAV had a history of homelessness, drug injection use and alcohol use disorder. On May 25, he sought care for vomiting and received antacids. The report said he felt better but returned to an urgent care facility three days later due to a lack of appetite, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. He also had jaundice, a condition that causes yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes because the liver cant efficiently process red blood cells as they break down.

Correctional Health Services determined the patients infectious period and identified 5,830 people who had been housed in the jail during that time and offered HAV vaccination to 2,766 people who were not vaccinated. More than half (1,510) accepted and received vaccination.

No additional cases have been reported or identified since October 2023, according to Morbidty and Mortality Weekly Report.

To read more, click #Hepatitis A or Heps Health Basics on Hepatitis A. It reads in part:

HAV is spread from one person to another when fecal matter from someone with HAV gets into another persons mouth. Even trace amounts of fecesthat are too hard to see can cause an infection.This can happen in a number of ways:

Hepatitis A is an acute form of hepatitis, meaning that it does not cause long-term (chronic) infection. If you have had hepatitis A once, you cannot be infected with the virus again. However, you can still be infected with other hepatitis viruses, such as hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus.

The best way to prevent hepatitis A is to be vaccinated with one of two HAV vaccines: Havrix and Vaqta. Both vaccines require two injections, usually administered six months apart. A combination vaccine for HAV and hepatitis B virus (Twinrix) is also available.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendsroutine hepatitis A vaccination for:

Hepatitis A vaccination is specifically recommended for:

The hepatitis A vaccine is very effective. More than 99% t of people who are vaccinated develop immunity against the virus and will never get hep A even if exposed to it.

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Rapid Vaccine Rollout Prevented a Hepatitis A Outbreak at LA County Jail - Hep Treatment News