DENVER (AP) — Colorado health officials are working to slow a hepatitis A outbreak that they say has already resulted in 52 cases of the contagious liver infection.
The Denver Post reports that the Colorado Department of Public Health Environment said Thursday that the outbreak has affected people experiencing homelessness and those with substance-use issues, along with individuals who are incarcerated and the contacts of those at-risk.
State health department communicable disease deputy director Nicole Comstock says people affected by this outbreak may have less access to health care and greater health risks.
Comstock says that in the past decade or so, Colorado has averaged about 24 cases of hepatitis A a year, meaning the 52 cases recorded since October "is more than we would expect to see."
