Hot dogs and hepatitis A vaccines were on the menu at the Bartholomew County Public Library on Tuesday as state health officials continued their ongoing efforts throughout the county to combat an outbreak.
Approximately 45 people lined up in 84-degree heat in the library’s plaza awaiting the hot dogs and vaccines about 15 minutes after the clinic opened at 11 a.m. The line of people stretched out across the plaza, nearly reaching Fifth Street.
State health officials said 100 hepatitis A vaccines were administered at the library from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Approximately 160 hot dogs were available, said Mildred Elkins, a Bartholomew County health official who had recruited a couple members of her church, Westside Community Church, to grill the hot dogs.
Tuesday’s vaccination clinic was the latest in a series of clinics locally hosted by state and county health officials, who are grappling to contain a major outbreak of hepatitis A in the state.
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Hepatitis A is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable viral liver infection that can cause loss of appetite, nausea, tiredness, fever, stomach pain, brown-colored urine and light-colored stools.
The virus spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food or drinks contaminated with infected fecal matter. This often happens when an infected person fails to wash his or her hands adequately after using the bathroom or engages in behaviors that increase the risk of infection, the health department said.
On Friday, state health officials vaccinated 67 people at Love Chapel Food Pantry, located at 311 Center St. in Columbus, said Amanda Organist, director of nursing at the Bartholomew County Health Department. On June 24, another 24 people were vaccinated at the food pantry, state health officials said.
A total of 3,214 hepatitis A vaccines have been administered in Bartholomew County since Nov. 1, 2017, according to state health records.
Bartholomew County and state health officials will team up to hold three days of clinics July 9-11 at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair.
As of Monday, there have been 1,667 confirmed cases of hepatitis A in Indiana — including 41 in Bartholomew County, according to data from the Indiana State Department of Health. Bartholomew County health officials have investigated 60 potential cases of the disease in the county, Organist said.
Typically, Indiana sees around 20 cases per year, according to the Indiana State Department of Health, while Bartholomew County typically has one to two cases per year, health officials said.
The outbreak has killed four people in Indiana and resulted in 908 hospitalizations across the state since Nov. 1, 2017, according to state figures. No deaths linked to hepatitis A have been reported in Bartholomew County.
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July 9: 5 to 9 p.m. at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair, 750 W. County Road 200S, at the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department tent.
July 10: Noon to 9 p.m. at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair, 750 W. County Road 200S, at the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department tent.
July 11: 5 to 9 p.m. at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair, 750 W. County Road 200S, at the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department tent.
Call the Bartholomew County Health Department at 812-379-1555, option 1, for more information.
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