Southeast Michigan is in the midst of a serious outbreak of hepatitis A, a highly contagious liver infection caused by a virus.
The Michigan health department reports 583 hepatitis A cases and 20 deaths in southeast Michigan since August 2016. Brought into the public eye by an unusual number of restaurant cases, health officials say the majority of cases are among drug users, the homeless and current and former inmates.
The majority of the outbreaks occurred in July through October and since then has fluctuated but overall has been declining from the summer peak.
State and public health officials are rallying to contain the outbreak. Health departments have increased awareness efforts by notifying the public and urging vaccination, which imparts lifetime immunity, to prevent the outbreak from spreading.
