Pennsylvania health officials have declared an outbreak of hepatitis A that has swept across the state.
Since January 2018, there have been 171 cases reported in 36 counties, the state's Department of Health said on Monday.
More than 60 cases alone have been identified since the start of 2019, Nate Wardle, a spokesperson for the Department of Health, told DailyMail.com
It comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this month that there were 300 percent more cases across the US between 2016 and 2018 than the previous three-year period.
According to the state's secretary of health, Dr Rachel Levine, declaring an outbreak makes Pennsylvania eligible for federal funds to buy more vaccine doses if necessary.
Since January 2018, there have been 171 cases of hepatitis A reported in 36 counties in Pennsylvania, and more than 60 cases alone this year
'It's hard to know for sure why we are experiencing an outbreak of hepatitis A,' Dr Levine said in a press release.
'We do know that the commonwealth has seen an increase of diseases like hepatitis C and HIV because of the opioid epidemic.'
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, there were more than 2,500 deaths in Pennsylvania related to opioids.
That's a rate of about 21.2 deaths per 100,000 persons, higher than the national average rate of 14.6 deaths per 100,000 persons.
Data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health shows the counties that have been
