Hepatitis a person-to-person outbreaks: Epidemiology, morbidity burden, and factors associated with hospitalization - Multiple States, 2016-2019

Abstract

Background: Since 2016, the United States has experienced person-to-person hepatitis A outbreaks unprecedented in the vaccine era. The proportion of cases hospitalized in these outbreaks exceeds historical national surveillance data. Methods: We described the epidemiology, characterized the reported increased morbidity, and identified factors associated with hospitalization during the outbreaks by reviewing a 10% random sample of outbreak-associated hepatitis A cases in Kentucky, Michigan, and West Virginia - 3 heavily affected states. We calculated descriptive statistics and conducted age-adjusted log-binomial regression analyses to identify factors associated with hospitalization. Results: Participants in the random sample (n=817) were primarily male (62.5%) with mean age of 39.0 years; 51.8% were hospitalized. Among those with available information, 73.2% reported drug use, 14.0% were experiencing homelessness, 29.7% were currently or recently incarcerated, and 61.6% were epidemiologically linked to a known outbreak-associated case. Residence in Michigan (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 1.8), being a man who has sex with men (aRR = 1.5), noninjection drug use (aRR = 1.3), and homelessness (aRR = 1.3) were significantly (P