Tennessee Hep A Cases Rise
The Hepatitis A outbreak in Hawkins County, Tennessee has now affected at least eight people who live in the Mooresburg community, near Cherokee Lake. Health officials have still not identified a source of the outbreak, but are doing everything they can to determine what led to the many illnesses. The Northeast Tennessee Regional Health Office has been handling the requests of concerned residents and has been giving Hepatitis A vaccines. The Health Office administered more than 1500 vaccines over the course of three days, but officials say that most who received the vaccine were unaffected by the outbreak and just worried (Knoxville News Sentinel).
The health department says that only people who were in the Mooresburg community between May 15 and 29 would possibly be affected by the outbreak. However, those are the only ties officials have found that connect the five adults and three children who have confirmed cases of Hepatitis A. Officials are investigating whether or not a spill of raw sewage into Cherokee Lake could be the cause. After a power outing in April, 250,000 gallons of raw sewage was dumped into the lake. The investigators don’t think that there is a likely chance the spill is to blame, due to the great time lapse, but soil and water samples are being collected to make sure. Officials think that more cases will be reported in time, and they are doing all they can to find the source of the outbreak.
