Noon Edition airs on Fridays at noon on WFIU.

Indiana is in the midst of a multi-state outbreak of Hepatitis A.

The Indiana State Department of Health estimates that Indiana averages 20 cases of Hepatitis A per year. But there have been 364 cases just since November, resulting in 161 hospitalizations and one death.

State and county governments distributed over 50,000 vaccines to slow the spread of the liver infection, which typically transmitted through contaminated fecal matter.

As numbers of cases continue to rise around the state, does more need to be done to combat this little-known disease?

We discuss the Hepatitis A outbreak in Indiana on this week's Noon Edition.

Guests

Penny Caudill, Monroe County Health Administrator

Amelia Johns, Clark County Public Health Nurse

Shawn Richards, Outbreak Supervisor at the Indiana State Department of Health

Conversation on Hepatitis A in Indiana

Shawn Richards with the Indiana State Department of Health gives us a broad sense of the state's views on Hepatitis A.

"Hepatitis A is highly contagious but also very highly preventable," Richards says. "What we're really trying to do is put our arms around this so it doesn't expand into more counties or spread between more states."

Penny Caudill attributed Monroe County's lower numbers of Hepatitis A cases to luck and paying attention to other counties so that they'd be ready.

"So far we've been very lucky and been able to work with the State Health Department and really making plans early on," Caudill says. "So back this fall, when all of this started coming up, we started talking among ourselves, like, 'How can we get ahead of this?'"

Caudill says this preparation allowed them to get vaccinations to at-risk populations like prisoners, the homeless, and drug users.

Clark County Public Health Nurse Amelia Johns advises other county health departments to build on the lessons that they've learned.

"Build relationships and partnerships with your community," Johns says. "Build relationships with your homeless community, build relationships with your jail. Educate people at the needle exchange."

Johns notes that school children are usually vaccinated for Hepatitis A, so they haven't seen as many juvenile cases as might be expected. Richards also sees a smaller prevalence of Hepatitis A in school-aged children.

"It's really not been in that age group, and we think a lot of that has to do with increased vaccination rates of those age groups," Richards says. "So, public health is working."

All three guests urge listeners to get vaccinated against Hepatitis A.