PHOENIX (AP) - Health officials say Maricopa County has recorded its first death related to the ongoing statewide hepatitis A outbreak.

Details on the person who died weren’t immediately available Tuesday.

Authorities say the death is the third in Arizona since the outbreak started last November.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ website, there have been 424 cases in the state since the start of the outbreak with 216 of the cases in Maricopa County.

Hepatitis A is a contagious disease that causes inflammation of the liver.

It is spread when people use the bathroom and then don’t wash their hands.

Authorities say anyone within the high-risk groups can receive a free hepatitis A vaccine from any of Maricopa County’s public health clinics.

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