AKIPRESS.COM - The death toll from California's hepatitis A outbreak has reached 19, one week after the state's governor issued a health state of emergency.
More than 500 people in California have contracted the viral disease since November, many of whom are homeless, BBC reported.
Hepatitis A, which attacks the liver, is usually spread through faecal matter, transmitted through sex or by touching contaminated food or objects.
It is the second-largest US outbreak of hepatitis A in the past 20 years.
Typically only one out of every 100 patients die from Hepatitis A, according to officials, but the disease has killed at a higher rate in California due to the vulnerable populations it has affected.
Symptoms include fever, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Jaundice, or yellowing of the skin and eyes, is also a possible symptom.