One Dead After Hepatitis Outbreak In Mendham

MENDHAM, NJ — One person has died as a result of a hepatitis A outbreak stemming from a Mendham Township country club, the New Jersey Department of Health has confirmed.

The person's identity was not released; a Department of Health spokesperson declined to provide more information, citing medical privacy regulations.

In addition to the one death, 25 people have been infected with hepatitis A stemming from a sick food handler at the Mendham Golf and County Club. The outbreak is unlikely to grow, as the infection window as closed.

Club members were notified around July 5, and all unvaccinated people who may have been exposed were told to get post-exposure prophylaxis by July 14. Secondary cases could have developed until Aug. 19, which is 50 days from when the food handler was last infectious.

Hepatitis A is a liver disease, which can cause fever, stomach pain, dark yellow urine, and jaundice. Most people recover within a few weeks, but it can be serious in some people.

It is highly contagious among people who have not been vaccinated.

Four other New Jersey residents have died from hepatitis A between Dec. 1, 2018, and Aug. 17, 2019., and 361 have been hospitalized in a series of outbreaks across the state. In that same time period a year earlier, just 50 cases were reported.

The New Jersey Department of Health says the hepatitis A cases have largely been connected to homelessness, drug use, incarceration and "men who have sex with men." But hepatitis A cases have also been observed in those without these "risk factors," the state says.

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