Knoxville (WVLT) – The Regional Health Department says they have “a major public health problem” on their hands.
Since Monday, six additional cases of Hepatitis-A have shown up in Campbell County.
Despite what the Health Department calls ëintense efforts to control or stop the spread of the virus,’ it’s now become a widespread community issue, meaning it’s being spread person to person not from any single source.

Wednesday morning Dr. Paul Erwin, with the Regional Health Department, said that part of their focus has turned to vaccinating children in the community with a two-part Hepatitis-A shot.
Health workers are focusing on children because they can often carry the virus and never show any symptoms at all.
Dr. Erwin says because of this, they don’t expect an immediate halt to the number of cases and will likely see many new ones in the weeks to come.
“Unfortunately, as part of a community-wide outbreak we may by the time it’s really slowed down in one or two months, see dozens of cases,” says Dr. Erwin.
If your child is age two or older and in a Campbell County daycare, or if you are a worker at a daycare there, you can begin getting a two-part Hepatitis-A vaccine Thursday (7/28).
Then starting Friday (7/29) and until needed, parents can bring any child in the community, ages 2 to 5, to the health department to receive the free shots.
Dr. Erwin says the 6 new cases are mostly in children and stresses that most of the 16 new cases are confined to two extended families.