Photo Credit: Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen
The following is a summary of “Burden of Hepatitis A Outbreaks in the United States: Health Outcomes, Economic Costs, and Management Strategies,” published in February 2024, issue of Infectious Disease by Horn et al.
The US has been suffering from Hepatitis A (HepA) outbreaks since 2016, mainly among high-risk groups, prompting recommendations for vaccination in adults at risk.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study investigating the health outcomes, economic burden, and management considerations associated with HepA outbreaks from 2016 onwards.
They conducted a systematic literature review evaluating the health outcomes, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), economic impact, and considerations for managing HepA outbreak-associated cases.
The results showed 33 studies on HepA outbreaks in which common morbidities included acute liver failure/injury (6/33) and liver transplantation (5/33), and case fatality rates ranged from 0% to 10.8%. Hospitalization rates varied from 41.6% to 84.8% in person-to-person outbreaks. Ten studies reported an economic burden averaging over $16,000 per hospitalization. Outbreak management reported on 34 studies that included reaching ‘at-risk’ groups and vaccination distrust, while successes involved targeted interventions such as mobile vaccination units and public awareness efforts like educational campaigns.
Investigators concluded that US HepA outbreaks pose significant clinical and economic burdens, requiring targeted prevention strategies, heightened public awareness, and increased vaccination coverage to mitigate impact and prevent future outbreaks.
Source: academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiae087/7615976