TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida had 74 hepatitis A cases in June and has hit 680 cases this year, according to data posted on the Florida Department of Health website.
The numbers, updated as of Saturday, show a gradual monthly decline in cases this year and a large reduction from last year, when the state totaled 3,411 cases and Surgeon General Scott Rivkees declared a public health emergency. But while cases have declined this year, the 680 infections are far more than the state had in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
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Hepatitis A, which causes liver damage, is spread through such things as fecal matter, sexual contact and intravenous drug use.
In issuing the public health emergency last August, Rivkees urged residents to get vaccinated and to wash their hands.
As of June 13, the latest county-by-county data posted online, Duval County led the state with 164 cases this year. It was followed by Volusia County with 59 cases and Brevard County with 47 cases.