Hepatitis A is on the rise among homeless people and those who use illicit drugs in Massachusetts, state health officials said Tuesday.
The highly contagious virus and liver infection was discovered in six people last month in three counties surrounding Boston — Suffolk, Norfolk and Plymouth — as well as in Hampden County in western Massachusetts, they said.
No deaths were reported, but some patients were hospitalized, the state Public Health Department said in a statement. Four of the six patients are men 36 and older.
“Several individuals reported recent homelessness/unstable housing, injection drug use, and/or other drug use, and reported recently seeking services at Boston-area clinics, shelters and substance use treatment facilities,” the health department said.
In 2018, a hepatitis A outbreak in Massachusetts led to 563 cases and killed nine people, the department said.
“Populations at particular risk include individuals experiencing homelessness and persons who inject drugs,” it said.
A 2017 hepatitis A outbreak primarily among homeless people in San Diego triggered a nearly six-month health em