Hawaii hepatitis A outbreak grows to 135 cases

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HONOLULU (AP) — The number of people sickened by a Hawaii outbreak of hepatitis A now tops 100.

The state Department of Health says there are 135 confirmed cases as of Wednesday.

As the number of cases continues to grow, health officials have been unsuccessful in identifying the cause of the outbreak. They say the investigation so far suggests the source is focused on the island of Oahu.

Now, seven of the patients live on the Big Island, Kauai and Maui. One is a tourist who returned to the mainland.

Hepatitis A is spread by contaminated food or water or close personal contact.

Identifying a source is challenging because of the disease's long incubation period. It's difficult for those infected to remember everything they ate and all the people they had contact with.