Hepatitis A concerns at Detroit Papa Romano's
Did you eat any uncooked items at the Farmington Hills Papa Romano’s between May 17 and May 23, 2008? If so, you may want to contact your doctor after a restaurant employee was diagnosed with hepatitis A.
Hopefully the employee practiced excellent handwashing so the hepatitis A virus, found in the employee's poop, didn’t make its way to a salad or roll.
Dude wash your damn hands. And don't eat poop.
Hepatitis linked to Melbourne café
Five people have been struck down with Hepatitis A in an outbreak traced to Zanzibar Cafe on Latrobe Street in Melbourne's city centre.
Victoria's Department of Human Services said the outbreak has been linked to a food handler who also worked part time as a cleaner.
A 65-year-old man from Doncaster, a 32-year-old woman from Reservoir, a 51-year-old man from East Malvern and a 54-year-old man from Aspendale were among those affected. The department was notified of a fifth case on Friday afternoon.
An extensive clean up of the cafe had been carried out under the supervision of Melbourne City Council.
Hepatitis A is found in feces of the infected person and can be spread by direct contact with food, beverages or crockery.
Chipotle hep A climbs to 14
NBCSandiego reported yesterday that the cases of Hep A linked to a La Mesa Chipotle has reached 14. The story says that most concern is over anyone who dined at the restaurant located at 8005 Fletcher Parkway between March 1 and April 22. Officials were cited as saying blood samples taken so far from restaurant employees have not shown any recent Hepatitis A infections.
With 14 cases and so far no employee testing for any signs of Hep A, I wonder if this outbreak is
linked to a common food vehicle from a supplier, or one mixed/prepared in store. Wonder if there has been a spike in what is thought to be sporadic Hep A cases associated with other outlets suppliers sent product to.
Hepatitis A illnesses linked to San Diego Chipotle now at 12
The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) reports six additional cases of Hepatitis A linked to possible exposure at a Chipotle restaurant in La Mesa, bringing the total number of cases to 12.
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The County recommends that individuals who dined at the restaurant between March 1 and April 22, 2008 -- and are symptomatic for Hepatitis A -- see their physician to be screened for the illness.
Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County of San Diego Public Health Officer, said,
“Hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable illness. The key to prevention also includes appropriate and frequent hand-washing."
Monty Moran, president and chief operating officer of Chipotle, said,
“We continue to partner with the County of San Diego as they investigate the cause of this illness. Employees tested to date have been negative for Hepatitis A. Our restaurant has received ‘A’ ratings in all five inspections in the last five months.”
Keep poop out of food. Wash your damn hands.
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San Diego Chipotle linked to hepatitis A outbreak
The San Diego Health and Human Services Agency and County Department of Environmental Health are investigating six cases of hepatitis A linked to a La Mesa Chipotle restaurant. …
Hepatitis A is a result of poor hygiene. Health officials say that victims are exposed when an individual consumes water or food contaminated with the stool of someone with the virus.
These hepatitis A cases are a weekly occurrence in the U.S. A food worker parties in Mexico or the Dominican or Honduras, where hepatitis A is endemic. Food worker comes home, is fine for two weeks, then spends the next two weeks crapping out virus. And unless food worker is really diligent about handwashing, she's spreading virus-containing poop on food -- especially fresh produce or salads. After four weeks, food worker turns yellow and goes to the doctor where a diagnosis is made. Then the clinics start. In this case, a food worker has not been identified as the source -- yet.
Get vaccinated for hepatitis A. And dude, wash your damn hands.
Is it hepatitis A day and no one told me?
After posting this week's infosheet on a Brazilian soccer club's hep A outbreak possibly linked to dirty water bottles we picked up three more stories on hep A exposures:
Cincinnati, OH:
A food handler at a PF Chang's restaurant in West Chester, OH was diagnosed with hepatitis A earlier this week, and today there was a report of the vaccination clinic running out vaccine and sending exposed individuals to an urgent care facility as a back up (resulting in wait times upwards of three hours).
Nearly 300 people were vaccinated for hepatitis A at Boise's Central District Health this past week.
The rush came after a health scare at the Red Feather Lounge where an employee confirmed infected with the virus
An orchard worker was found to have hepatitis A and was sent home to the Solomon Islands.
The fruitpicker, who was working at Apollo Pac in Whakatu for the season, was referred to the Hawke's Bay District Health Board's (DHB's) public health unit with the symptoms of Hepatitis A, including nausea and jaundice. The DHB's medical officer of health Caroline McElnay was cited as saying 23 people who had been living in close quarters with the person had also been screened for the disease and given an injection of antibodies for temporary protection.
Happy hep A day.
New International Food Safety Network Infosheet -- Brazillian soccer club hit with hepatitis A
Capitalizing on the massive popularity of soccer, we decided to throw together an infosheet on the reported hepatitis A illnesses linked to a Brazilian club team. As Doug posted last night, health 
authorities are linking the outbreak to shared water bottles (they must have been contaminated with some nasty poop).
You can download the infosheet here.
Brazilian soccer team Internacional hit with hepatitis A outbreak
Associated Press is reporting that a hepatitis A outbreak hit the Brazilian soccer team Internacional, sidelining five players who are now banned from any contact with teammates.
The team said the liver disease probably spread from player to player in the locker room, most likely through shared water bottles.
Except hepatitis A is not spread by saliva; it's spread by poop. So there was either poop on the water bottles -- possibly from someone's hand -- or poop in the water.
Or the water bottle theory is wrong.
Internacional is a former club world champion.
Fancy food doesn't mean safe food -- Socialista edition
Health officials said that hundreds of patrons of a posh Manhattan hot spot, including A-list celebrities who attended actor Ashton Kutcher's 30th birthday party there, may have been exposed to hepatitis A.
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James Trinko, 29, received a vaccination Saturday and said,
"I just can't believe that in a restaurant as fancy as it was, that they would have this problem. It's kind of a pain in the butt to come out here and deal with this." But "you have to do it."
The story says that hepatitis A virus is found in fecal matter. If someone with the disease doesn't wash his or her hands properly and handles food or drinks, the virus can be spread.
Health department spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti said the Socialista bartender, whose name was not released, handled glasses and garnishes, and there was no soap behind the bar.
Keep the hepatitis A poop off your hands -- and Oscar party platters
The Hollywood Writer's Strike ended just in time for the Oscars, but not in time to salvage several already canceled Oscar parties.
Madonna, fresh from potentially being exposed to hepatitis A at Ashton Kutcher's 30th birthday party on Feb. 7, has stepped up and put together a 'last minute' party with the help of her manager, Guy Oseary, and pal Demi Moore.
Hope Madge and Demi will have all the servers screened for the hepatitis A virus.
Hepatitis A is a relatively rare disease spread by putting something in one's mouth that has been contaminated with traces of fecal matter.
Get vaccinated for hepatitis A. And dude, wash your damn hands.
Celebrities line up for Hepatitis A shots in New York
Last week it was a Wegman's supermarket in New York. Last year it was Beyonce at a Wolfgang Puck catered Sports Illustrated party. This time, it's Ashton Kutcher's 30th birthday party on Feb. 7 where A-list celebrities such as Demi Moore, Madonna, Ivanka Trump, Salma Hayek, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Roberto Cavalli and Liv Tyler, who all attended, are now being asked to get immunoglobin shots to ward off hepatitis A.
Apparently a bartender at Socialista, some fancy club where the birthday bash was held, was discovered to be carrying hepatitis A earlier this week, and when city health department officials inspected the bar they discovered that it lacked hand-washing soap.
One story gave a new twist to the oral-fecal route description we usually use:
According to the health department, hepatitis A is a relatively rare disease spread by putting something in one's mouth that has been contaminated with traces of fecal matter.
The day manager who answered the phone at Socialista this afternoon told the Health Blog that the bartender apparently got hepatitis on a recent vacation to Honduras, and just found out he had the bug.
These hepatitis A cases are a weekly occurrence in the U.S. A food worker (bartender) parties in Mexico or the Dominican or in this case, Honduras, where hepatitis A is endemic. Food worker (bartender) comes home, is fine for two weeks, then spends the next two weeks crapping out virus. And unless food worker (bartender) is really diligent about handwashing, he's spreading virus-containing poop on food -- especially fresh produce or salads. And it's really hard to effectively wash hands without soap. After four weeks, food worker turns yellow and goes to the doctor where a diagnosis is made. Then the clinics start.
Get vaccinated for hepatitis A. And dude, wash your damn hands.
Hepatitis A clinics cost $500,000 so far; vaccination is cheaper
WGRZ is reporting that the hepatitis A positive Wegmans' employee has led to at least $500,000 being spent on vaccination clinics in upstate New York.
So far, more than 8,300 people have been vaccinated.
Dr. Anthony Billittier said,
"When it comes to protecting the public's health we need to do what we need to do."
Erie County Executive Chris Collins said,
"We've redeployed workers out of the Rath building to go to the ECC clinic. They aren't doing their jobs in the Rath building but we're paying them anyway, so is it a cost for the Hepatitis clinic, yes, because when they come back their work is piling up." And they may have to work overtime to catch up.
It's also costing taxpayers money to rents screen to give patients privacy, for the needles to inject the vaccine, and for the NFTA buses on standby to keep people waiting warm.
These hepatitis A cases are a weekly occurrence in the U.S. A food worker parties in Mexico or the Dominican where hepatitis A is endemic. Food worker comes home, is fine for two weeks, then spends the next two weeks crapping out virus. And unless food worker is really diligent about handwashing, he's spreading virus-containing poop on food -- especially fresh produce or salads. After four weeks, food worker turns yellow and goes to the doctor where a diagnosis is made. Then the clinics start.
Get vaccinated for hepatitis A. And dude, wash your damn hands.
Hepatitis A scare at New York Wegmans store
Erie County health officials say a produce handler at a Williamsville grocery store has been diagnosed with Hepatitis A and they're advising people who might have been exposed to get treatment.
Anyone who handled or ate raw produce purchased from the Wegmans on Sheridan Drive since January 7th is asked to contact their doctor or get treated at free clinics this weekend.
Produce shelves at the Wegmans store on Sheridan Drive were empty last night after the store pulled all potentially contaminated products.
The Erie County Health Department is hosting clinics at the Erie Community College north campus from 4 p.m. to midnight Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. For more information call 1-800-808-1987.
Wegmans spokesperson Ann McCarthy said,
"We will be doing, as we've done in the past, making automated phone calls to customers who would have purchased potentially affected products from our Sheridan Drive store."
Additional information about hepatitis A can be found at
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/a/
Hepatitis A case confirmed at B.C. ski resort restaurant
The British Columbia Interior Health Authority warned yesterday that people who ate at the Sun Peaks ski resort near Kamloops between January 7 and 24 may have been exposed to Hepatitis A.
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Dr. Digby Horne, the medical health officer for the Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap area told CBC News on Wednesday morning that a food handler at Masa’s Bar and Grill developed the virus after travelling outside of the county.
As a result, Interior Health is urging anyone who ate at Masa’s after 3 p.m. PT on January 16, 18, 20, 23 or 24 to get vaccinated.
And food handlers, wash your damn hands.
Foodborne illness sidelines Elias
Devil's star forward Patrik Elias returned to New Jersey Saturday with what he believes was a case of food poisoning and not related to hepatitis A or the flu.
Elias told the N.J. Star-Ledger,
"It just came on real quick. I had no symptoms before. I think it was just regular food poisoning, nothing related to hepatitis. I started feeling nauseous Friday morning. I had a nap before the game and by midnight I was vomiting and had a fever. I still have a little fever today, probably because of dehydration, but stomach-wise I feel much better. I ate some soup today. Hopefully, it will go away as quickly as it came on."
The story notes that it may indeed be food poisoning or the flu, but it is always a more serious matter with Elias. He contracted hepatitis A while playing in Russia during the 2004-05 lockout and missed the first 39 games of the '05-06 season while recovering.
New International Food Safety Network Podcast -- Week of 10/26/07
This week in the podcast we look at:
- Hepatitis A in Calgary
- More beef recalls
- Salmonella in Georgia
Crisis management 101
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The San Francisco Chronicle reports this morning that a single employee's illness at a single San Jose store propelled Jamba Juice into a high-profile damage control effort Friday as health authorities said thousands of customers might have been exposed to the hepatitis A virus.
Jamba Juice spokeswoman Anne Baker was cited as saying the staffer didn't contract the virus from the store at 1140 Lincoln Ave. in San Jose or its products. But because it's possible that the worker distributed virus particles, the store was cleaned and sanitized Wednesday night after the company learned of the worker's illness.
The virus is found in the feces of infected people, who can deposit it on food or surfaces even if they wash their hands after going to the bathroom. But hand washing is one of the most important measures to prevent contagion.
Are You Being Served?
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The British TV comedy 'Are You Being Served?' was, according to a story in the Australian (14 April 07), always compulsory viewing in the Stuttaford household, and the recently deceased John Inman was the obvious star of the series.
Stuttaford says that some of his homosexual patients were initially rather cross because he exaggerated the stereotype of the camp gay, with languid hand movements and his obvious pleasure when taking inside-leg measurements. His catchphrase "I'm free", with its obvious innuendo, became famous.
Later, even most gay campaigners joined the other 22 million avid viewers as Inman's humour, so obviously in the pantomime tradition like that of his friend Danny La Rue, mitigated any charge that he was setting back the drive to banish discrimination.
The story says that John Inman, 71, contracted hepatitis more than two years ago, after eating food contaminated with the virus. The story goes on to say that a great advance in medicine over the past 25 years has been that both hepatitis A and B can be prevented by vaccination.
In the case of hepatitis A, the initial dose is repeated six to 12 months later with a booster. A form of the vaccination is available for children over the age of 12 months and it should become a routine injection for all those who spend their holidays abroad.
Hollywood hepatitis
The newest food safety info sheet, a graphical one-page food safety-related story directed at food handlers, is now available.
Infosheet highlights:
- Recent Hollywood parties attendees were given a scare when it was announced that a worker for famous chef Wolfgang Puck’s catering service was diagnosed with Hepatitis A.
- Among those in attendance at the party was singer Beyonce Knowles, while director George Lucas attended another event catered by the same company.
- Infected individuals can shed the virus for up to 30 days before showing symptoms.
- Attendees were recommended to get immunoglobulin shots to prevent possible infection.
Infosheets are created weekly by FSN and are posted in restaurants, retail stores, on farms and used in training throughout the world. If you have any infosheet topic requests, or photos, please contact Ben Chapman.
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