Personal Injury Law

Hepatitis A Vaccination Program Works in Alaska - It is Past Time for the Rest of the Country to Follow Along

By Bill Marler, Esq.

I can almost see Alaska from my house.

If the rest of the country follows Alaska's lead, I may be down one product line at my law firm.  According to the journal Vaccine, Alaska health officials said the state's hepatitis A vaccination program (a program that we have advocated for several years around the country) has virtually wiped out hepatitis A infections in the state. Officials also said the program has cut down on the rates of the disease among Alaska Natives from among the highest in the nation to among the lowest. 

Hepatitis A is one of five human hepatitis viruses (hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E) that primarily infect the liver and cause illness. An estimated 80,000 cases occur each year in the U.S., although much higher estimates have been proposed based on mathematical modeling of the past incidence of infection. Each year, an estimated 100 persons die as a result of acute liver failure in the U.S. due to hepatitis A, but the rate of infection has dramatically decreased since the hepatitis A vaccine was licensed and became available in the U.S. in 1995.

Hepatitis A is a communicable (or contagious) disease that spreads from person-to-person. It is spread almost exclusively through fecal-oral contact, generally from person-to-person, or via contaminated food or water. Food contaminated with the virus is the most common vehicle transmitting hepatitis A. The food preparer or cook is the individual most often contaminating the food, although he or she is generally not ill at the time of food preparation. The peak time of infectivity, when the most viruses are present in the stool of an infectious individual, is during the two weeks before illness begins. Although only a small percentage of hepatitis A infections are associated with foodborne transmission, foodborne outbreaks have been increasingly implicated as a significant source of hepatitis A infection.  Hepatitis A can cause death and severe illness.

Hepatitis A may also be spread by household contact among families or roommates, sexual contact, ingestion of contaminated water, ingestion of raw or undercooked fruits and vegetables or shellfish (like oysters), and from persons sharing illicit drugs. Children often have asymptomatic or unrecognized infections and can pass the virus through ordinary play to family members and other children and adults. We have been involved in representing families who have suffered from this virus.

• Carl's Jr. Hepatitis A Outbreak - Washington
• Chi-Chi's Hepatitis A Outbreak - Pennsylvania
• Chipotle Grill Hepatitis A - San Diego, California
• D'Angelo's Deli Hepatitis A Outbreak - Massachusetts
• Friendly's Hepatitis A Exposure - Massachusetts
• Houlihan's Hepatitis A Exposure - Illinois
• Maple Lawn Dairy Hepatitis A Outbreak - New York
• McDonald's Hepatitis A Outbreak - Washington
• McDonald's Hepatitis A Outbreak - Quad-Cities, Illinois
• Quizno's Hepatitis A Exposure - Massachusetts
• Soleil Produce Hepatitis A Outbreak - California
• Subway Hepatitis A Outbreak - Washington
• Taco Bell Hepatitis A Outbreak - Florida

Full post as published by Marler Blog on November 21, 2010 (boomark / email).