RICHMOND – Wayne County this week hit a milestone in its ongoing struggle to combat the spread of hepatitis A.
The county's confirmed cases of the virus reached triple-digits, coming in at 101 total instances since the start of the year. The figure is up four from 97 last week, according to figures released Friday by the Indiana State Dept. of Health.
Even as the area's progression of new cases has slowed in recent weeks, dropping significantly since the start of September from the July to August average of 14 new cases per week, Wayne County has retained a stronghold on the state's No. 1 spot for hepatitis A cases; it's also steadily been among the national leaders as well.
The next-closest county to Wayne is Clark County, which in the last week held steady at 74 cases of the virus.
The only other county in eastern Indiana with at least five cases of hepatitis A is Fayette, which now has nine confirmed instances of the virus.
Overall, Indiana saw an increase of 19 new cases in the past seven days, with its number jumping to 469. Of those, 206 people have been hospitalized and one person has died. The state generally sees about 20 cases of hepatitis A each year.
Local and state health officials have continued pushing Wayne County residents to be vaccinated against the virus, which in rare cases can significantly damage the liver.