Charlotte-area county sees dramatic spike in Hepatitis A. Here’s what you need to know

Gaston County is seeing “dramatic increases” in Hepatitis A cases in recent months, related to an ongoing statewide outbreak, according to the Gaston County Health Department.

Gaston health officials are urging people to get vaccinated against Hepatitis A, especially during May as Hepatitis Awareness month in North Carolina.

From 2018 through last year, Gaston saw 33 local cases of Hepatitis A, according to the Gaston health department. But in just the first three months of this year, the county saw at least 70 cases.

“We’ve really never seen anything like this,” communicable disease supervisor for the Gaston County Health Department Ellen Wright said in a statement.

Most cases have occurred among three risk groups: people who use injection or non-injection drugs, people who are experiencing homelessness and men who have sex with men.

But Wright added: “It only takes one person working in a restaurant or other public-facing industry to cause a large-scale community outbreak.”

The vaccine for Hepatitis A is safe and effective, the county health department said.

What is Hepatitis A?

Anyone in a Hepatitis A risk group or anyone who has had contact with someone with Hepatitis A should contact their health care provider or local health department about getting a vaccine, the Gaston health agency said.

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver infection. The illness can range from mild, lasting a few weeks, to a severe illness that could last months. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite and stomach pain.

The virus is typically transmitted through feces-contaminated food or water.

In December, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported a “sharp increase in the virus” related to an outbreak that began in April 2018.

“Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself against hepatitis A,” Dr. Erica Wilson, medical director for vaccine preventable diseases in the NCDHHS Division of Public Health, said in a statement at the time. “One dose of vaccine is highly effective, and a second dose gives lifelong immunity.”