LOS ANGELES, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Board of Supervisors of San Diego County has decided to extend the state of emergency over the hepatitis A outbreak.
The county spent more than 5.5 million U.S. dollars to fight the spread of the disease, including administering over 100,000 vaccinations and raising awareness among the public, according to documents released Tuesday.
The total number of infection cases currently stood at 546, with 20 people haing died in the nearly year-old outbreak, according to official figures.
Even though the case number has dropped obviously with only two additional confirmed cases in the last two weeks, the authorities decided to maintain the emergency state to continue vaccination, prevention and educational efforts.
The county and city of San Diego took several steps to address the deadest outbreak in the country in decades, including spraying sanitizing formula on streets, building hand-washing stations and restrooms in areas where the homeless gather.
According to health experts, hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable, communicable liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus.
It is usually transmitted through the fecal-oral route or consumption of contaminated food or water. The best way to prevent hepatitis A infection is to get vaccinated.
Californian Governor Jerry Brown declared on Oct. 14 a state of emergency for the deadly hepatitis A outbreak that spread from San Diego to all of the western U.S. state.
