There is a hepatitis A outbreak in Louisville. The outbreak was declared in November of 2017. As of June 20, 2018, there have been 478 cases and 3 deaths associated with this outbreak.
The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness continues to work to control an outbreak of acute hepatitis A that has centered in the city’s homeless, people with unstable housing, and among those who with any illicit drug use (not just injection drug use).
Hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable, communicable disease of the liver caused by a virus. It is usually transmitted person-to-person through the fecal-oral route or consumption of contaminated food or water.
The best way to prevent hepatitis A infection is to get vaccinated. As of June 20, 2018 almost 75,000 people living in our region have been vaccinated by us and our community partners. Of those, more than 6,000 food service workers have been vaccinated.
