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Homeless Areas To Be Washed With Bleach-Spiked Water To Combat Hepatitis A Outbreak

SAN DIEGO (CBSLA.com/AP) -- City officials are using water spiked with bleach to help combat a deadly outbreak of hepatitis A in San Diego.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer says street washing will occur every other week after county officials earlier this month declared a public health emergency due to the spread of the liver disease that has killed 15 people and hospitalized 300 more.

The homeless and drug-using population has been hit the hardest.

Earlier this month, San Diego County gave the city five business days to come up with a plan to address what officials described as a "fecally contaminated environment" in the downtown area.

Crews will use bleach-spiked water for the high-pressure washing of surfaces that may have feces, blood or bodily fluids.

About 40 portable hand-washing stations are being installed in areas with concentrations of homeless, the Associated Press reports.

Meanwhile, a report on current efforts to prevent a Hepatitis A outbreak in Los Angeles County is expected to be submitted within the next week after the virus was identified in a food handler in Lancaster on Sept. 1.

The virus lives in human feces and spreads if people who have used the bathroom don't properly clean their hands.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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