Hepatitis A
In an update on the hepatitis A outbreak in Florida, health officials reported 55 additional outbreak cases in the past week. This brings the outbreak total to 2,847 since the beginning of the year and 3,395 hepatitis A cases since the beginning of 2018.
43 fatalities have been reported.
Polk and Pinellas counties continue to report the most cases this year, with 397 and 371 cases, respectively. Both counties have reported significant declines in cases recently.
From October 13, 2019 to October 19, 2019, county health departments (CHDs) administered 2,504 (44%) of the total 5,634 first doses of hepatitis A vaccine administered to adults age 18 years and older, as recorded in Florida SHOTS.
Vaping illness
The Florida Department of Health put the number of Lung Injury Associated with E-Cigarette Use, or Vaping cases at 70 through Oct. 19, including 1 death.
When asked about whether Florida should try to stop the outbreak through a moratorium on the sale of vaping products, state Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said, “There are a number of options for us to consider. This is something that is evolving, and, at the present time, we are still determining what would be the best route,” Rivkees said. “I want to be clear about one thing: We all need to recognize that youth should not vape. And second, that adults need to be made aware of this potentially life-threatening condition associated with vaping. And in terms of what will be the best approach to get those messages out, we are currently working on those.”
Nationwide there have been 1,479 cases and 33 deaths.
