Open Outbreak

Should I be worried about Hepatitis A outbreak, Costa Rica?

Updated · Graded from official assessments; nothing here is medical advice.

Hepatitis A outbreak, Costa Rica · moderate

If you are in the affected area no assessment
No agency has published an assessment for people in the affected area. The CDC travel notice posted on 9 October says there is a hepatitis A outbreak in Costa Rica and that most cases are reported in San José province.
If you are elsewhere in the same country or region no assessment
No agency has published an assessment for people elsewhere in Costa Rica. The CDC travel notice posted on 9 October says there is a hepatitis A outbreak in Costa Rica and that most cases are reported in San José province.
If you are travelling there soon no assessment
No agency has published an assessment for travellers. The CDC travel notice posted on 9 October says there is a hepatitis A outbreak in Costa Rica and that most cases are reported in San José province.
If you are elsewhere in the world no assessment
No agency has published an assessment for people elsewhere in the world. The CDC travel notice posted on 9 October says there is a hepatitis A outbreak in Costa Rica and that most cases are reported in San José province.

What is happening

Costa Rica has a hepatitis A outbreak, and a live CDC travel notice says most cases are reported in San José province. Local media citing the Ministry of Health say officials have been investigating active outbreaks in Desamparados, Hatillo and Hospital, with an earlier 14-case cluster in Aserrí and San Juan de Dios de Desamparados. Direct official material retrieved here confirms the outbreak but does not give a reconciled national total. Media reports cited here do not agree on the count, with some reporting 772 cases nationally in 2026 and another reporting 504 cases nationally and 1 death, all unverified. Officials are reported to be doing case finding, investigating links between cases, and advising handwashing, cleaning shared surfaces, safer food handling, and keeping symptomatic people away from preparing food for others.

Who is affected and how it spreads

Hepatitis A is an acute liver infection caused by hepatitis A virus. It spreads mainly by the fecal-oral route, including through close personal contact, contaminated food or water, dirty hands, and some sexual contact. Risk is often higher for unvaccinated people in close-contact settings and, in low-endemicity countries, for groups such as travellers to endemic areas, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, and people with chronic liver disease. Vaccines exist, and WHO says they should be used for prevention, including outbreak control and post-exposure prophylaxis for close contacts.

What we are watching

Updates

Sources