The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine
CDC) has seen an increase in hepatitis A cases with four cases occurring over
the past three months.
Maine currently has six year-to-date cases of hepatitis A.
While this increase in cases is unusual for this length of time, the overall
number of hepatitis A cases in Maine for 2017 remains at a normal level.
Outbreaks in several other U.S. states and European countries have shown that,
while anyone not vaccinated against hepatitis A can get the illness, certain
groups are at greater risk than others.
Hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable, contagious liver
disease that is caused by the hepatitis A virus.
Symptoms can range from a mild
illness to a severe sickness that can last several months. Most adults with
hepatitis A have symptoms, including tiredness, low appetite, stomach pain,
nausea, dark urine and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), that usually
occur suddenly. Most children younger than six years of age do not have
symptoms or have an unrecognized infection. The best way to prevent hepatitis A
infection is to get vaccinated.
Hepatitis A spreads from person to person by swallowing
something that is contaminated with feces from someone who is infected with
hepatitis A (for example, contaminated food and water, or through fecal-oral
sexual contact). Most infections occur from contact with a household member or
sex partner who has hepatitis A. Hepatitis A spreads easily in areas where
sanitary conditions and personal hygiene practices are poor. In the United
States, hepatitis A is responsible for approximately 100 deaths annually.
To protect yourself from hepatitis A:
Get vaccinated, especially if you are a man who has sex with
men, use drugs (injection or non-injection), are homeless, have chronic liver
disease such as cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis B or C, or travel to areas
overseas where hepatitis A is common.
Always wash your hands after using the bathroom, changing a
diaper or engaging in sexual activity. Always wash your hands before preparing
or eating food.
Talk to a healthcare
provider if you think you may have been exposed to hepatitis A.
Get vaccinated for
hepatitis B, as well to make sure you are protected from hepatitis B.
For more information on hepatitis A visit: https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hav/index.htm
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