DECEMBER 4, 2018

Hepatitis A Spreading Among Homeless, Drug Users

By Ethan Covey

The spread of hepatitis A in the United States is shifting from food contamination to transmission among drug users and the homeless, according to a CDC study.

Whereas in previous years, large hepatitis A virus (HAV) outbreaks were tied to the consumption of contaminated commercial food products, a review of 2017 infections indicates that most HAV transmission is occurring person-to-person, among these high-risk populations (MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67[43]:1208-1210).

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