Michigan has America’s biggest outbreak of hepatitis A in the country.
Since August 2016, 837 people have been sickened with the virus and 27 people have been killed, reports Kristen Jordan Shamus of the Detroit Free Press:
The virus is highly contagious and can be spread through food or water contaminated by the feces of an infected person, through close contact or sex with a person who has hepatitis A or by touching a surface contaminated by the virus and then touching your mouth. It causes liver inflammation — and liver failure in extreme cases — and can be prevented through vaccination and hand washing.
The outbreak has led to alerts from county health departments about several restaurants in metro Detroit where as many as 35 workers were found to have the virus and who may have spread it unknowingly to diners.
Read more from the Detroit Free Press.