Georgia Coastal Health District

Several states, including Georgia, are experiencing outbreaks of Hepatitis A, a very contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis virus (HAV) that can cause mild to severe illness. Hepatitis A usually spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food, or drinks that are contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool from an infected person. 

Symptoms of hepatitis A include:

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal pain
• Clay-colored stools
• Dark urine
• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)

Symptoms usually start appearing four weeks after exposure but can occur as early as two and as late as seven weeks after exposure; however people can spread hepatitis A even if they don’t look or feel sick.

Careful hand washing, including under the fingernails, with soap and water, is always an important tool to prevent the spread of this and many other diseases. 

Hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable disease. The best protection against HAV infections and outbreaks is through widespread vaccination, particularly among  populations most at risk:

• All children at age 1 year
• Travelers to countries where hepatitis A is common
• Family and caregivers of adoptees from countries where hepatitis A is common
• Men who have sexual encounters with other men
• People who use or inject drugs
• People with chronic or long-term liver disease, including hepatitis B or hepatitis C
• People with clotting factor disorders
• People with direct contact with others who have hepatitis A
• People experiencing homelessness

Get more information on Hepatitis A.

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Measles has been in the news a lot lately. As of April 29, 2019, six residents in Georgia (none in Coastal Health District) have been reported as having measles. Measles have also been reported in nine other states. Measles is highly contagious and can be very dangerous, especially for young children.
The best way to prevent measles is for all children to be fully vaccinated on time. The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and effective and prevents measles and two other viral diseases – mumps and rubella. More than 95% of the people who receive a single dose of MMR will develop immunity to all three viruses. A second dose boosts immunity, typically enhancing protection to 98%.

Measles is spread by air-borne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes and can live in the air and on surfaces for 2-3 hours. Measles typically begins with a fever, followed by cough, runny nose, and/or red, watery eyes. After two to three days, the fever peaks and a rash appears at the hairline and spreads progressively downward covering the face, neck, trunk and extremities. Symptoms from measles usually appear within 10 – 14 days after exposure. Measles patients are considered to be contagious anywhere from 4 days before to 4 days after the rash appears.

Measles is endemic in many parts of the world and transmission in the U.S. is most often associated with unvaccinated travelers (Americans or foreign visitors) who get measles while they are in other countries.

Who is at increased risk of becoming infected with measles?

• Infants who are too young to have been vaccinated (less than 1 year of age)
• Persons who have never been vaccinated
• Pregnant women
• Immunocompromised persons (these include persons undergoing cancer chemotherapy or other immune-suppressive treatments, transplant recipients or those with diseases that affect the immune system such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE).
  
• Anyone who becomes sick or thinks they may have been exposed to measles should contact your health care provider immediately and let him or her know that you may have been exposed to measles.

Anyone who becomes sick or thinks they may have been exposed to measles should contact their health care provider immediately. DO NOT go to the doctor’s office, the hospital, or a public health clinic without FIRST calling to let them know about your possible contact with measles. Health care providers who suspect measles in a patient should notify public health immediately. For more information about measles, log on to https://www.cdc.gov/measles/index.html

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is continuing its national tobacco education campaign—Tips From Former Smokers^® (Tips^®)—with hard-hitting TV commercials that feature real people who have experienced the harms caused by smoking. The campaign ads, which air beginning April 2019, will again highlight the immediate and long-term damage caused by smoking, and encourage smokers to quit.

CDC launched the first Tips campaign in 2012 to lower smoking rates and save lives, and the campaign has been very successful since then. Results of a CDC study published in the journal, Preventing Chronic Disease, show that during 2012-2015, CDC’s Tips campaign was associated with over half a million sustained quits among U.S. adult smokers, and over 9 million quit attempts.

Americans pay a high price in illnesses and deaths due to tobacco use. Unfortunately, even though smoking rates among adults have declined over the years—from 20.9% in 2005 to 14% in 2017—tobacco use still results in far too many deaths, disabilities, and smoking-related illnesses in the United States. For every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking-related illness.

“Most smokers want to quit. They don’t want to suffer or be a burden on their families,” said Corinne Graffunder, DrPH, MPH, director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “By showing how real people and their families are affected by smoking-related diseases, the Tips campaign can help motivate people to quit for good.”

For more information about the Tips campaign and resources for quitting smoking, visit CDC.gov/tips. For help quitting, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).

STDs are making a comeback across the nation. The surge of STDs endangers the health of too many in the United States (U.S.). According to the CDC, from 2013-2017, syphilis cases nearly doubled, gonorrhea cases increased by 67 percent, and chlamydia cases remained at record highs.

STDs are preventable and treatable. The best way to prevent STDs is to understand how to protect yourself. Anyone who is sexually active can get an STD. According to the CDC, there are 20 million new STD infections in the United States every year.

Did you know that the most common STD – human papillomavirus (HPV) – can be prevented by a vaccine? Get the lowdown on how to prevent STDs here. STD testing and treatment is available at all Coastal Health District health departments.