{"id":27499,"date":"2025-05-09T21:46:48","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T21:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=27499"},"modified":"2025-05-09T22:30:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T22:30:05","slug":"what-to-know-about-the-hepatitis-a-outbreak-in-l-a-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=27499","title":{"rendered":"What to Know About the Hepatitis A Outbreak in L.A. County"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">A highly contagious liver infection is surging among groups who are not typically at risk. At least seven people have died.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Public health officials in Los Angeles County have declared an outbreak of hepatitis A, a highly contagious liver infection driven by a virus that can, in rare cases, cause severe illness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The condition, which is typically identified in fewer than 50 people in L.A. County each year, infected at least 138 people in 2024 and cases have remained unusually high so far in 2025. Officials say that levels of the virus in local wastewater suggest <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"http:\/\/publichealth.lacounty.gov\/acd\/diseases\/hepa-data.htm\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">these figures are an undercount<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-59aff52b\">How is hepatitis A transmitted?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The hepatitis A virus is spread through the so-called oral-fecal route, which means it is ingested through food or drinks that have been contaminated by microscopic bits of stool from an infected person. It can also spread through close contact with someone who is carrying the virus, even if they don\u2019t show any symptoms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Unhoused people are often at greater risk of contracting hepatitis A because they have limited access to proper toilets and hand-washing facilities. The virus is also more common among travelers to places with poor sanitation, men who have sex with men and people who use drugs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But officials say many of the recent cases have occurred in people without those risk factors. They do not yet know why, but Dr. Timothy Brewer, an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist at U.C.L.A., said it had led him to worry about two things: <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/hepatitis\/outbreaks\/frozen-strawberries-2023\/index.html\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">food contamination<\/a>, and community circulation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf you\u2019re practicing good hygiene in a community that has access to potable water, you really should not be seeing a lot of this,\u201d he said. \u201cSomething is going on \u2014 but exactly what that something is, we don\u2019t yet know.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-kbghgg\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171quhb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F09%2Fhealth%2Fhepatitis-a-los-angeles.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F09%2Fhealth%2Fhepatitis-a-los-angeles.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F09%2Fhealth%2Fhepatitis-a-los-angeles.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F09%2Fhealth%2Fhepatitis-a-los-angeles.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A highly contagious liver infection is surging among groups who are not typically at risk. At least seven people have died.Public health officials in Los Angeles County have declared an outbreak of hepatitis A, a highly contagious liver infection driven by a virus that can, in rare cases, cause severe illness.The condition, which is typically identified in fewer than 50 people in L.A. County each year, infected at least 138 people in 2024 and cases have remained unusually high so far in 2025. Officials say that levels of the virus in local wastewater suggest these figures are an undercount.Here\u2019s what to know.How is hepatitis A transmitted?The hepatitis A virus is spread through the so-called oral-fecal route, which means it is ingested through food or drinks that have been contaminated by microscopic bits of stool from an infected person. It can also spread through close contact with someone who is carrying the virus, even if they don\u2019t show any symptoms.Unhoused people are often at greater risk of contracting hepatitis A because they have limited access to proper toilets and hand-washing facilities. The virus is also more common among travelers to places with poor sanitation, men who have sex with men and people who use drugs.But officials say many of the recent cases have occurred in people without those risk factors. They do not yet know why, but Dr. Timothy Brewer, an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist at U.C.L.A., said it had led him to worry about two things: food contamination, and community circulation.\u201cIf you\u2019re practicing good hygiene in a community that has access to potable water, you really should not be seeing a lot of this,\u201d he said. \u201cSomething is going on \u2014 but exactly what that something is, we don\u2019t yet know.\u201dWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27501,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27499"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27502,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27499\/revisions\/27502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}