Increasing incidence of viral hepatitis A outbreaks in the State due to contaminated water sources, unsafe handling of food or poor hand hygiene of food handlers, has once again reopened the discussion whether the State needs to introduce universal Hep A vaccination.
In the last decade or more, Kerala has been experiencing a sizeable number of hepatitis A outbreaks, majority of which are small outbreaks but which remain under-reported and under-investigated. The frequency of these outbreaks has been going up in recent years, with occasional deaths too.
The Health department’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme reports that this year as on March 3, there have been 1,743 probable cases of hepatitis A and 545 confirmed cases. There have been six suspected/probable hepatitis A deaths and one confirmed death.
