Legal Insurrection has been following the outbreak of Hepatitis A, an infectious liver disease that can be deadly, in California and Michigan.
Now Utah is reporting that there has been a surge in the number of cases of the disease in the state.
Utah’s largest hepatitis A outbreak in years has now sickened at least 75 people since the first case was discovered in May.The state usually sees three or four cases annually. Now, at least that many cases are reported each week.Health officials have scrambled to keep up, launching an outreach and vaccination campaign around Salt Lake County, where the majority of cases are centered. The rapid spread of the virus has occurred among the homeless population, due to poor hygiene and unsanitary conditions.“Our greatest concern with the outbreak is that it will leap into another population, or into the general population, and the outbreak will grow exponentially,” said Nicholas Rupp, a spokesman for the Salt Lake County Health Department.
A key component in the effort to control that leap is an enhanced vaccination effort. Unfortunately, there is now a nationwide shortage of the vaccine.
“Current supply is not sufficient to support demand for vaccine,” the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told CNN in a written statement.Southeast Michigan has seen 495 cases of Hepatitis A and 19 deaths, mostly in Macomb and Wayne counties and in Detroit. The outbreak began in August of 2016, and after a drop off during the winter, has been climbing since February of this year, said Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Angela Minicuci.”We have a limited supply of vaccine,” said Minicuci, “so we are prioritizing delivery to high-risk populations.”In California an outbreak of the virus has sickened at least 644 people and claimed 21 lives, mostly in the cities of San Diego, Santa Cruz, and Los Angeles, according to the CDC.
Another component of the effort to battle the Hepatitis A outbreak is exposure control as it relates to public areas. Unfortunately, in the San Diego area, homeless activists have decided both their immune systems and morality are better than those of the public officials who are struggling to stop the spread of the pathogen.
El Cajon activists handed out 100 brown lunch bags Sunday, in defiance of a municipal ordinance that prohibits distributing food to the homeless on city property.In October, the El Cajon City Council unanimously passed an emergency ordinance prohibiting food distribution on any city-owned property, as a way to protect the public from hepatitis A….Shane Parmely, who also helped plan the event, said that the organizers mean to warn surrounding cities against adopting similar laws.“It’s important that we shut this down now, before it spreads to other communities, where they treat people like garbage,” she said.
I counter that I am more worried about the disease spreading, given the number of fatalities being reported. Parmley is displaying some truly dangerous thinking.
In fact, in regards to dangerous thinking, I was blessed to be able to chat with America’s Conservative Warrior Princess, Teri O’Brien, author and founder of host of the Teri O’Brien Show, about this situation, as well as other California-related topics.
Teri has a new project, “Dangerous Thinkers with Teri O’Brien,” featuring interviews with pundits and professionals who challenge the conventional wisdom (e.g., Prof. Walter E. Williams, Journalist/Author Sharyl Attkisson, Mediaite’s Joe Wulfsohn,legendary attorney Alan Dershowitz and Historian/Author Victor Davis Hanson).
I really adore her program, because she captures a bit of the personality and background on each of her subjects. I must admit, I am more of a “Mischievous Thinker”, but if you are interested, click the LINK HERE.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY