San Diego County Supervisors ratify hepatitis A emergency declaration

SAN DIEGO – The Board of Supervisors Wednesday, Sept. 6, unanimously ratified a declaration of a public health emergency in San Diego County related to an outbreak of hepatitis A that has sickened nearly 400 people, 15 fatally.

The emergency was declared by the county’s public health officer, Dr. Wilma Wooten, on Friday to gain further public awareness of the problem.

In a presentation to the supervisors, Wooten said about two-thirds of the cases have been among people who were homeless and/or illicit drug users. Laboratory testing traced the first cases to November 2016, and county health off...