News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Upper Cumberland individuals not already vaccinated for Hepatitis A may put themselves at risk.
That according to Dr. Tim Jones is the Tennessee State Epidemiologist.
Jones said all forms of Hepatitis present the same symptoms.
“Hepatitis A can cause jaundice, so yellowing of the eyes, yellowing of the skin, diarrhea or stools that are kind of yellowish,” Jones said. “Fever, abdominal pain, and basically just feeling overall terrible.”
The Tennessee Department of Health has reported approximately 25 cases of Hepatitis A in the Upper Cumberland.
The Hepatitis A outbreak affects individuals in the Upper Cumberland.
Jones said once someone is exposed to Hepatitis A, it takes one month for symptoms to show.
“So if you can go in a see a doctor or the Health Department in about two weeks [after initial contact], we can actually give you a vaccine that will prevent getting the disease. So anyone who basically, you know, has these sort of risky factors can go in and get a vaccine.”
Jones said the Hepatitis A vaccine is 100 percent effective and most children in the past 15 years have received the vaccination.
Antibiotics and other medications do not cure Hepatitis A.
“It’s just sort of a matter of treating the symptoms and waiting for it to go away on its own,” Jones said. “For people that sort of already have health problems then they get Hepatitis A, it can be pretty severe.”
Jones said, healthy individuals typically recover on their own.
The Tennessee Hepatitis A outbreak began about 6 months ago with about 450 cases statewide.
“What we found is that in any area that starts to have cases, they can really spike up fast,” Jones said. “So anywhere we start to see cases we want to jump on them as soon as we can.”
Jones said those who have certain risk factors need to get vaccinated.
“Anyone can get Hepatitis A. This outbreak especially seems to be associated with people who use any kind of recreational drugs or maybe have unstable housing,” Jones said. “So those are people who are especially at risk.”
This week, the Tennessee Health Department reported one death related to Hepatitis A in East Tennessee.
