HEALTH ALERT NETWORK

HEALTH DISTRICT 3

HEPATITIS A ADVISORY FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

Southwest District Health (SWDH) Urges Providers to Watch for Hepatitis A and Vaccinate Those at Risk as Idaho’s Hepatitis A Outbreak Grows

August 1, 2019

The hepatitis A outbreak in Southwest Idaho continues with 34 cases reported in 2019. Nine cases have been reported in Canyon and Owyhee counties while neighboring Ada and Elmore counties report 21 cases. Please test patients with clinically compatible signs and symptoms and vaccinate those at increased risk.

Prevention

Vaccination is the best way to prevent hepatitis A. The hepatitis A vaccine is routinely recommended for children. It is also recommended for adults wishing to obtain immunity or who are at higher risk for infection or severe disease. Adults in the high risk group include:

-People living homeless

-People who use street drugs (injection and non-injection)

-Men who have sex with men

-People with chronic liver disease

-International travelers

To help prevent further spread, SWDH recommends routinely offering vaccine to patients in high risk groups. SWDH is currently offering hepatitis A vaccine to all adults and free vaccine to patients in the high risk group. Patients may call 208-455-5345 to make an appointment.

Symptoms and Laboratory Testing

Consider hepatitis A in patients with fatigue, fever, headache, joint pain, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stool, jaundice and/or elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels. The symptoms of hepatitis A are indistinguishable from those caused by other types of acute viral hepatitis.

Recommended testing includes liver enzymes (ALT, AST), total bilirubin, and acute viral hepatitis testing with hepatitis A IgM, hepatitis B core IgM, hepatitis B surface antigen, and hepatitis C antibody. Please note, hepatitis A total antibody does not distinguish acute infection from past infection or immunity, so it is not recommended.

Please contact SWDH Communicable Disease Control at (208) 455-5442 to report suspect and confirmed cases of hepatitis A.

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