NJ Hepatitis Outbreak

NEW JERSEY – State health officials are warning about an outbreak of hepatitis A that's expanded, infecting 361 people over the past eight months and hitting many counties hard. It's also popped up in some unexpected places – including a golf club.
Four people have died and 240 people have been hospitalized, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. The disease has been identified in 21 New Jersey counties (see list and number of cases below).
The 361 cases have been detected since the outbreak began in December – a sharp increase over last year, when 50 people were infected during the same time period, Dec. 1 through Aug. 17.

The New Jersey Department of Health says the hepatitis A cases have largely been connected to homelessness, drug use, incarceration and "men who have sex with men." But hepatitis A cases have also been observed in those without these "risk factors," the state says.
Recently, 23 people were infected with Hepatitis A after a Mendham golf club employee came to work sick, New Jersey Department of Health Officials said. Read more: 23 Sickened In Hepatitis A Outbreak At Mendham Twp. Golf Club

Campers at a North Jersey summer camp also might have been exposed to hepatitis A, the Sussex County Department of Health warned. Read more: Campers At North Jersey Camp Exposed To Hepatitis A
Also, earlier this year, a worker at a Dunkin' Donuts in Ocean City was diagnosed with hepatitis A, the Cape May County Health Department and New Jersey Department of Health announced. Read more: Hepatitis A Notice Involving Ocean City Dunkin' Donuts: Officials
And letter was recently sent home to parents of more than 1,300 students at Nottingham High School-North in Hamilton Township in Mercer County informing them of the potential exposure of hepatitis A, according to NJ101.5.
Here is where the disease has been diagnosed, along with the number of cases:

• Atlantic 11
• Others at link
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  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also been investigating the outbreak that has hit 29 states.
  The state Department of Health has supplied hundreds of vaccines to several health departments to immunize uninsured or underinsured individuals at risk of the liver disease, according to a department release.
  
  "Hepatitis A can be prevented with a vaccine," Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal said.
  The virus is typically transmitted from person-to-person when it is ingested from objects, food or drinks contaminated by a stool from an infected person, according to the release.
  This can happen when infected people do not wash their hands properly after using the bathroom and then touch food or items that are shared with others.
  Hepatitis A can also spread from close personal contact with an infected person, such as through sex or caring for someone who is ill, according to the release.
  
  Most adults with hepatitis A have symptoms, including fatigue, low appetite, stomach pain, nausea and jaundice, that usually resolve within 2 months of infection; most children less than 6 years of age do not have symptoms or have an unrecognized infection, according to the CDC.
  For more information about hepatitis A, visit https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/hepatitisa.shtml or https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hav/index.htm
  
  "I'm encouraged that our partnership with these organizations is getting an effective prevention measure to the most vulnerable people in the state," said Elnahal.
  Vaccinations being offered at the several locations are only for individuals who are uninsured or underinsured. Individuals with insurance should go to their primary care physician.
  
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