CDC Acknowledges Hepatitis Awareness Month, Reports on Investigations

May is hepatitis awareness month and, according to an article in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) May 18, 2012, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report(MMWR), beginning this year, May 19 will be considered National Hepatitis Testing Day. The day was established in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a comprehensive viral hepatitis action plan that outlines strategies in six areas to improve viral hepatitis prevention, care, and treatment in the United States. A related article in the same issue of MMWR describes a series of hepatitis B outbreaks that occurred at four Virginia assisted-living facilities. In each of the cases, CDC’s investigation revealed infection control lapses related to staff’s performance of assisted monitoring of blood glucose. Specifically, staff members would occasionally use the same penlet-style finger-stick device for more than one resident.