POWELL, Wyo. (AP) — State and local health officials are looking for ways to control hepatitis C cases in Park County, which roughly doubled from 2011 to 2012.

The Associated Press says there were 56 new cases of hepatitis C in the county last year. About 60 percent were in the Cody area and 40 percent in the Powell area.

State officials say the county's rate has been rising since 2008. They say the increase is generally among people between ages 20 and 34.

Hepatitis C is transmitted by blood, sometimes by people sharing drug needles. It causes liver damage and is blamed for 15,000 deaths a year nationwide.

A Park County poster campaign in May warned that injecting drugs puts users at risk for hepatitis and other disease.

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