Hepatitis A: An Ongoing Multi-state Outbreak and its Importance to Environmental Services in Health Care Settings

Description

 
Kentucky and Indiana have become the latest states to experience hepatitis A outbreaks in 2018 joining Utah, California and Michigan. Both states have historically had about 20 cases of hepatitis reported in a typical year.  However, the Kentucky Department for Public Health has reported more than 400 cases of Hepatitis A since August 2017 and Indiana sixty-nine since January 2018. Both states are taking measures to address the outbreak, emphasizing high risk groups including those who are homeless or housing insecure, injection and non-injection drug use, and men who have sex with men. Recent cases have been identified among food service workers resulting in the inclusion of those handling food in targeted vaccination efforts.  

Join Ruth Carrico, PhD DNP to learn more about this outbreak, its impact on health care workers and those responsible for environmental service and food service departments in healthcare settings.