Hepatitis A is a Huge Problem in America. Here’s Why

Huffpost recently did an analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and California Department of Health data, and it revealed that the Hepatitis A cases shot up to about 48.7% nationwide from 2016 to 2017. These results didn’t match the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that showed a mere 5.4 percent increase. Statistics reveal that the homeless and illicit drug users have become the prime targets of the deadly virus in the country.

Causes for the outbreak

The disease has primarily spread due to contaminated imported food. For instance the outbreak that took place in 2016 was due to frozen strawberries and the 2013 outbreak was related pomegranate seeds. Since Hepatitis A is a sexually transmitted disease too, cases have been reported among gay and bisexual men.

The spread of the disease through fecal matter is common in developing countries who don’t have access to proper sanitary services however this is becoming common in America too. The vaccine is required for school age children, however since the vaccine was approved only in 1995, it means most adults have missed the vaccination window.

Factors contributing to the outbreak

Health officials told Huffpost that when Hepatitis outbreak took place in San Diego, there were about 580 cases that included 20 deaths from late 2016 to March this year. 777 cases and 25 deaths were reported in Michigan since the outbreak took place in August 2016. The latest city to face the outbreak was Louisville, Kentucky in November 2017 in which 128 cases and one death was reported.

Public health officials believe that there are various factors contributing to the nationwide outbreak.  The prime factors are the homeless population whose numbers are only increasing by the day. The increasing number of illicit drug users who often don’t have access to medical care and the homeless, with no access to sanitary services.

According to Hanen of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, outbreaks will continue to take place among the homeless and the illicit drug users until they don’t have access to clean water and sanitation.

Pharmaceutical companies were unable to provide sufficient number of vaccines to the people who needed them. The two major pharmaceutical companies- Merck and GlaxoSmithKline however have increased their production and the vaccine is being handed out by public health departments in high risk areas.

Less monetary fund

According to public health officers, there is insufficient funds and limited resources to tackle the challenges that the disease brings forth. The teams that are working in high risk areas are also over-worked. According to Hanen, the president’s budget this year called for a $50 million cut to the vital funding stream. Funds were already cut by $4 million last year.

In addition, CDC is not providing accurate numbers of the victims which makes the disease appear less widespread. The United States has a huge task at hand in tackling the preventable but deadly disease and looks like the country has to work on a combination of  factors, before the problem can be brought totally under control.