Tennessee's hepatitis A outbreak claimed its first fatality this week, and health officials are expecting the virus to spread throughout Nashville, according to The Tennessean.
Elizabeth Hart, spokesperson for the Tennessee Health Department, said the fatality was in East Tennessee and she could not disclose more information about it.
The outbreak has grown to 449 statewide cases, including 134 in Nashville and 201 in surrounding counties. Forty cases were reported in Chattanooga. Local health officials said the Nashville count may be as high as 150 cases.
"We are very saddened by the recent death associated with hepatitis A and realize, unfortunately, we could see more deaths, as this continues to be a very serious outbreak with more than half of the people identified with the illness needing hospitalization," John Dreyzehner, MD, health commissioner of Tennessee, told The Tennessean.
Large hepatitis outbreaks have hit California, Michigan and Kentucky. The CDC determined most of Tennessee's outbreak is traceable to a virus strain responsible for outbreaks in San Diego and Louisville.
Health officials have vaccinated about 36,000 people statewide, since May 2018.
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