Louisville Medicine Volume 65, Issue 11 | Page 12

PUBLIC HEALTH
( continued from page 9 )
According to the Centers for Disease Control ( CDC ), the following people are at increased risk for acquiring hepatitis A virus ( HAV ) infection :
• Persons with direct contact with persons who have hepatitis A
• Travelers to countries with high or intermediate endemicity of HAV infection ( https :// wwwnc . cdc . gov / travel / yellowbook / 2018 / infectious-diseases-related-to-travel / hepatitis-a )
• Men who have sex with men
• Users of injection and non-injection drugs
• Persons with clotting factor disorders
• People with chronic ( lifelong ) liver diseases , such as hepatitis B or hepatitis C
• Persons working with nonhuman primates
• Household members and other close personal contacts of adopted children newly arriving from countries with high or intermediate hepatitis A endemicity [ 3 ]
• In the current outbreak , those who are homeless or have unstable housing
Remind parents that the state has recently mandated HAV vaccination in ALL schoolchildren before July 2018 and that they should start the vaccine series right away ! Though children are not part of the outbreak to date , they can easily be protected by following this state mandate and being vaccinated .
6 . Provide post-exposure prophylaxis ( PEP ) to those who have been in contact with someone infected with HAV within 14 days of exposure . Healthy people age 1-40 should be provided hepatitis A vaccine for PEP . Provide Immunoglobulin ( IG ) to close contacts of those with HAV if under age one , pregnant , or if other comorbidities exist , if available . Hepatitis A vaccine should be offered to contacts if IG Is not available . The dosage of IG is 0.1mL / kg . [ 3,4,5 ]
7 . Consider helping with the LMPWH efforts . There are various ways to do this : and having physician champions for this cause can help highlight this as a priority in your organization . If you are a leader within your organization , consider how you could assist in our outbreak response .
• Identify additional locations where vaccination may be needed . If you are involved in community organizations or events that serve at-risk populations , let us know ! We have found many locations such as churches and food pantries that have allowed us to reach those with vaccine that we might not have reached otherwise .
• Donate money or items to help with vaccine efforts . Incentives such as personal care items , small food items such as granola bars , can be used during vaccine events to increase participation in the at-risk population .
Though we have had challenges in our outbreak response , I am fortunate to be serving with a team of dedicated individuals at LMPHW and we appreciate your efforts in helping us with this hepatitis A outbreak response and promoting community immunity by Derby !
For more information or to get involved in the HAV outbreak response , please contact Dr . Caloia at lori . caloia @ louisvilleky . gov .
https :// www . cdc . gov / hepatitis / hav / havfaq . htm
https :// www . cdc . gov / hepatitis / resources / professionals / training / serology / training . htm
https :// www . cdc . gov / mmwr / preview / mmwrhtml / mm5641a3 . htm
https :// www . cdc . gov / mmwr / volumes / 66 / wr / mm6636a5 . htm ? s _ cid = mm6636a5
https :// www . cdc . gov / hepatitis / outbreaks / 2017March-HepatitisA . htm
Download this form for reporting communicable disease http :// files . constantcontact . com / a2246f9c001 / 70192a80-d687-46a5-8dc4- 7176703e2e14 . pdf
Table of reportable diseases in KY : http :// files . constantcontact . com / a2246f9c001 / 362ab98f-b117-456d-82a0-ecd043b5fd07 . pdf
Dr . Caloia serves as Medical Director for the Louisville Department of Public Health and Wellness .
• Join the Medical Reserve Corps ( MRC ). Though some paperwork is required to be completed up front ( background check ), once you become a member , you can respond with any of the LMPHW efforts that are already ongoing . Joining the MRC does not obligate you to respond to future events . If you are interested in joining the MRC , please contact Kim Rogers at ( 502 ) 526-6833 .
• Work with your organization to spread word of the outbreak and encourage involvement in response efforts . We all have competing priorities within our own organizations ,
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