A MILITARY COMMUNITY OUTBREAK OF HEPATITIS TYPE A RELATED TO TRANSMISSION IN A CHILD CARE FACILITY1

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Abstract
An outbreak of hepatitis type A occurred among military personnel and dependents on a military post in Anchorage, Alaska, August 1976–April 1977. One hundred sixteen clinical cases of hepatitis were identified over a nine-month-period. Ninety-six per cent of those cases that were tested demonstrated IgM antibody to hepatitis A virus. A large child care facility was implicated as a major focus of hepatitis virus transmission. Sixty-four (55%) of the cases were directly or indirectly linked to the child care facility. The length of time that a child spent at the facility appeared to increase the child's risk of developing hepatitis and the risk of his transmitting the hepatitis A virus to other members of the immediate household.