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Since the outbreaks were first identified in 2016, 37 states have publicly reported the following as of August 5, 2022:
• Cases: 44,436
• Hospitalizations: 27,163 (61%)
• Deaths: 424
According to the CDC, when hearing about hepatitis A, many people think about contaminated food and water. However, in the United States, hepatitis A is more commonly spread from person to person. Since March 2017, CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH) has been assisting multiple state and local health departments with hepatitis A outbreaks, spread through person-to-person contact.
The hepatitis A vaccine is the best way to prevent hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection:
• The following groups are at highest risk for acquiring HAV infection or developing serious complications from HAV infection in these outbreaks and should be offered the hepatitis A vaccine in order to prevent or control an outbreak:
◦ People who use drugs (injection or non-injection)
◦ People experiencing unstable housing or homelessness
◦ Men who have sex with men (MSM)
◦ People who are currently or were recently incarcerated
◦ People with chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C
• One dose of single-antigen hepatitis A vaccine has been shown to control outbreaks of hepatitis A.1,2.
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