San Diego County sees slowdown in Hepatitis A cases


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SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego County is seeing a slowdown in the number of cases of Hepatitis A from an average of 84 per week this summer to only two in the first three weeks of December.

The county's public health officer, Dr. Wilma Wooten, said Tuesday that the death toll of 20 also has not changed since October.

San Diego County has had 571 cases since November of 2016, the worst such US outbreak in 20 years.

Health officials have vaccinated more than 100,000 people, installed 159 hand-washing stations and cleaned streets with a bleach solution in an effort to contain the liver-damaging virus that lives in feces.

The city also is opening tents to house homeless people, the most affected population.

Wooten says the efforts appear to be working.

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