A highly contagious liver infection is surging among groups who are not typically at risk. At least seven people have died.
Public health officials in Los Angeles County have declared an outbreak of hepatitis A, a highly contagious liver infection driven by a virus that can, in rare cases, cause severe illness.
The condition, which is typically identified in fewer than 50 people in L.A. County each year, infected at least 138 people in 2024 and cases have remained unusually high so far in 2025. Officials say that levels of the virus in local wastewater suggest these figures are an undercount.