Free vaccinations
Catoosa Health Department, 145 Catoosa Circle, RinggoldWalker County Health Department, 603 E. Villanow St., LaFayette
In the past three months, the Georgia Department of Public Health has vaccinated over 2,700 residents of Catoosa and Walker counties at free clinics in the area, according to the state agency.
Hepatitis A is a contagious liver infection which can cause fatigue, nausea and jaundice lasting about two months. It does not have long-lasting effects, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The disease is most commonly transmitted through contaminated food or water and from person-to-person.
Since June 2018, there have been 471 cases of hepatitis A confirmed in Georgia, and 27% have been in Catoosa and Walker counties, according to the GDPH. Of these cases, 92 confirmed have been in Walker County, and in bordering Catoosa, there have been 37 confirmed cases.
Logan Boss, public information officer at the GDPH, said the uptick in Walker is due to the county’s proximity to Tennessee, which has reported over 1,600 cases since December 2017.
“We’ve watched [cases of hepatitis A] move south, roughly following U.S. Highway 27, I-75, and their surrounding counties, propelled by illicit drug use, both IV and non-IV,” Northwest Health District Epidemiologist Melissa Hunter said in a press release.
Hepatitis A is vaccine-preventable, said Boss. In 1995, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended routine hepatitis A vaccinations for children, and in Georgia, it is required for school-aged children born on or after Jan. 1, 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Not everybody needs a vaccination, Boss said. Who would benefit most are those suffering from homelessness, those who have recently been incarcerated, drug users, those working in fast food, and anybody who has come in contact with people who have hepatitis A.
Free vaccinations are being offered at county health departments in Walker and Catoosa for the rest of the year, and to inmates at local jails and prisons.
Email Sabrina Bodon at sbodon@timesfreepress.com.