Hepatitis A is spreading across the state, and the disease has now reached outbreak level in Broward County.
On Thursday, the Broward County Health Department confirmed there have been seven cases of adults with Hepatitis A since the first of the year, making Broward a high-risk zone like the counties to the north. Broward’s reported cases follow Palm Beach and Martin counties, which confirmed this week that they had reached the outbreak threshold of five cases, making them high-risk zones.
In Martin County, the health agency has announced its latest confirmed case of the liver disease, bringing the total to at least 16 since the first of the year. Eleven of the Martin County cases have occurred since April 1. The total represents the largest number of Hepatitis A cases recorded in Martin County in the past five years.
On Tuesday Palm Beach County reported six cases, with five of them recorded within the past 50 days. Health department officials say they are scouting for the source of the communicable disease of the liver, and as of Thursday had found no direct link between any of those infected. Statewide, 690 cases had been reported in 2019 through the end of March.