On Thursday, the state has declared a public health emergency due to a chronic Hepatitis A outbreak. During this public health emergency, the state addressing the outbreak by seeking help from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Along with Florida, Pennsylvania Philadelphia has also declared a public health emergency due to the hepatitis A outbreak.
Hepatitis-A: Precautions
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious disease hence, the state surgeon general suggests several precautions which include,
The public making use of any bathroom facility should sanitize it with a bleach solution. In the case of the unavailability of the bleach solution, the CDC-approved disinfectant is an alternative. This is an important step to control the spread of the disease.
To alert the public and further prevent the spread of Hepatitis A in our state, we urge vaccination and stress the importance of washing your hands regularly. https://t.co/s6YiIQ6kvd
— Jeanette M. Nunez (@LtGovNunez) August 2, 2019
The health professionals suggest taking care of simple precautions like washing hands as well. It is suggested that one of the best ways to prevent the spread of the virus, is to wash hands for over twenty seconds with warm water after using the restroom as well as before eating.
Florida officials declared a public health emergency over the rising number of hepatitis A cases, the latest part of the country dealing with outbreaks of the liver disease.https://t.co/d3EV436try
— WBBM Newsradio (@WBBMNewsradio) August 2, 2019
However, vaccination remains the most important precaution.
The emergency may last up to 60 days

An attempt by the Florida Health Department to spread awareness.
The state has revealed this emergency may last up to sixty days unless the declaration is renewed.
“By doing an emergency now, it really allows us to increase our vaccination activities and increase public awareness,” Rivkees said. The state has developed foot teams that are actually going into parts of homelessness where people are in dire need of vaccination.
Florida just declared a public health emergency over Hepatitis A.
There have been 2,034 cases reported so far this year, compared with 548 all last year.
The CDC is tracking outbreaks currently in 24 states. The city of Philadelphia has also declared a public health emergency.
— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 2, 2019
The state is working very actively to eradicating the impact of the virus. In fact, every county in Florida is offering free of cost vaccines to individuals who are at the highest risk.
Reach out to the state-

A poster by the Florida Health Department.
The affected population can reach out to the state via its official website, mail or call.
- The state launched a web page. The public welfare webpage aims to answer any number of questions regarding the emergency. The official website is – FloridaHealth.gov/hepa.
- Furthermore, the public can reach out to the Health Department of the state via mail. The official email address is- [email protected]
- The public can also call on the state’s information line and seek help. 1-844-CALL-DOH (1-844-225-5364) – These numbers are active from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. ET.
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