Another Hepatitis A Outbreak in the United States

Posted: Sep 7th, 2016 at 12:00AM - by e7 Health

Only weeks after an outbreak of Hepatitis A in Hawaii, a new outbreak of Hepatitis A has been discovered in multiple states. This new outbreak involves six states: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, and Wisconsin.

It appears that the outbreak mostly involves West Virginia where 44 individuals have been infected and where the outbreak is believed to have begun. Of the 44 infected, about half have been hospitalized. The Virginia Department of Health has connected the infections to frozen strawberries imported from Egypt that were used in smoothies by Tropical Smoothie Cafe restaurants.

Hepatitis A is a viral infection that can cause serious damage to the liver leading to cirrhosis. Children who contract the disease often do not show symptoms while adults typically do. Whether or not a person develops symptoms, the disease can be spread to others. Hepatitis A is typically spread through fecal-oral contamination, meaning the strawberries came in contact with fecal material that was infected with the virus.

Hepatitis A has a long incubation period making identifying the source of an outbreak more difficult. Once a person consumes the infected product, symptoms typically take 15-50 days to appear. In this case, individuals who were infected started to show symptoms in May through August of this year. It took health officials until early August to find the common source among infected individuals.

Once the CDC informed Tropical Smoothie Cafe of the outbreak linked to its product, CEO Mike Rotondo posted a YouTube video apologizing for the issue and stating that strawberries from Egypt were immediately removed on August 5^th from all of their locations and new strawberries were sourced.

People who are interested in protecting themselves from Hepatitis A can receive the Hepatitis A vaccine which takes six months to complete the two dose series. You can call e7 Health or schedule your appointment online to begin your vaccine series at any time, and you do not need a doctor's prescription. To help you avoid contracting Hepatitis A, you should also wash all fresh fruits and vegetables and make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before preparing foods. Hepatitis A can also be spread person-to-person and through other types of foods such as the frozen scallops that caused the outbreak in Hawaii earlier this year, so make sure to come in and receive your vaccine sooner rather than later.