Pa. Dept. Of Health Warns Of Hepatitis A Outbreak
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Pennsylvania Department of Health is warning about a Hepatitis A outbreak in our region.
So far this year, there have been 81 cases in Pennsylvania.
That's an 80 percent increase over the past five years.
Allegheny County has had eight cases reported within the past month.
"This year seems pretty unusual with the amount of Hepatitis A that's spreading. This seems to be quite a isolated, in a pocket. They do believe that this is possibly related to the IV drug abuse that's so prevalent in our area," said Dr. Brent Rau, of Allegheny General Hospital.
Pennsylvania is not the only state being affected by the outbreak. Hepatitis A cases have also been reported in Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, Florida and North Carolina.