Tourists say they contracted Hepatitis A on San Diego trip

SAN DIEGO – Two tourists from Utah who visited San Diego this summer say they believe they contracted hepatitis A on their trip.

Mike Johnson and Josh Oviatt told the San Diego Union Tribune that they were in San Diego in August. They both were diagnosed with the liver-damaging virus a month later. The 44-year-old Oviatt was hospitalized for four days. A third friend travelling with them had been vaccinated and did not get sick.

San Diego County is battling the worst hepatitis A outbreak seen in the United States in decades. So far, 20 people have died in the past year, mostly homeless people.

Hepatitis A lives in feces.

The 43-year-old Johnson told the newspaper his eyes and skin turned yellow and doctors told him he was nearing liver failure.