KENTUCKY (WHAS11) – Kentucky’s Acting Commissioner of the Department for Public Health, Dr. Jeffery Howard, said the department is working with the Centers for Disease Control on state’s hepatitis A outbreak.
According to Howard, the CDC said Kentucky’s response has been the “gold standard.”
Howard’s statement comes after the Indiana State Department for Health urged people to get vaccinated for hep A before traveling to Kentucky.
Hepatitis A virus is primarily spread through fecal-oral transmission. The virus can also be spread by sexual contact with someone who has hepatitis A. Risk factors for cases reported in the current Kentucky outbreak primarily are homelessness and injection drug use.
The Department of Public Health said they need to increase vaccination rates and adherence to good hand hygiene practices to reduce the spread, if they don't the disease will keep spreading.
The CDC has advised that similar outbreaks usually peak after about six to eight months. In Kentucky, they do not expect to experience a shorter duration.
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As of April 14 there are 352 outbreak-associated cases, 246 hospitalizations, and three deaths.
DPH recommends vaccination for children and adult residents of Jefferson, Bullitt, Hardin, Greenup, Carter and Boyd counties. The vaccine is not recommended for infants under the age of 1.
Read Howard’s statement below:
"As you probably know, a small number of counties in our state are dealing with a hepatitis A outbreak. At the Department for Public Health we are aggressively responding to the situation. In fact, while working with the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, on this issue, they’ve called our response the “gold standard.”
The CDC, the country’s foremost expert body in outbreak response, has NOT levied ANY travel restrictions nor made ANY recommendations for people to get vaccinated prior to traveling to a state with an active hepatitis outbreak.
Still, some misleading information has raised concerns about travel to Kentucky and even the Derby. Let me say that it IS safe to travel to Kentucky and it IS safe to attend the Kentucky Derby.
The risk of contracting hepatitis A is greatest in those with risk factors for the disease, which in our outbreak include homelessness and drug abuse.
We have not had any cases associated with contamination from a food worker and the risk of contracting the disease from an infected food worker is very low.
While there are NO travel restrictions, the CDC does recommend vaccination for children, folks with risk factors, and those living in an outbreak area who wish to be protected. Kentucky’s vaccine recommendations are in complete compliance with these CDC recommendations.
We will continue to work diligently with federal, regional and local partners to ensure the greatest protection of Kentuckians and visitors to our great Commonwealth."
