Health

Hepatitis A outbreak in the US and Canada linked to strawberries


Public health officials say they are investigating an outbreak of hepatitis A in the United States and Canada that may have been linked to organic strawberries.

US health officials said the outbreak most likely came from fresh organic strawberries branded FreshKampo and HEB purchased between March 5 and April 25.

The Food and Drug Administration said strawberries were sold at stores including Aldi, HEB, Kroger, Safeway, Sprouts Agricultural Market, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Weis Markets.

Health officials say the strawberries are now past their use-by date, and that people who bought them between March 5 and April 25 should throw them away, even if they’ve frozen solid for later eating. health official said.

In the United States, the FDA says it has identified 17 cases of hepatitis A that have been linked to strawberries — 15 in California and one each in Minnesota and North Dakota. The agency said 12 people were hospitalized.

In Canada, health officials say they have confirmed 10 cases – four in Alberta and six in Saskatchewan. Four people were hospitalized in that country.

No strawberry-related deaths have been reported in the United States or Canada, according to officials in both countries.

Hepatitis A is an infectious virus that can cause liver disease. It can be transmitted when food is consumed after being handled by a person who does not adhere to proper hand hygiene, the FDA said.

Symptoms typically develop 15 to 20 days after eating contaminated food and can include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, jaundice, dark urine and pale stools, the FDA said. .

People who believe they may be infected or may have eaten tainted strawberries in the past two weeks should talk to their healthcare provider, the FDA said.

In a statement, HEB, which is based in Texas, said it had not received or sold organic strawberries from the supplier under investigation since April 16.

“All strawberries sold at HEB are safe,” the company said. “No strawberry illnesses related to the FDA investigation have been reported at HEB or in Texas.”

FreshKampo said it no longer ships fresh organic strawberries that are linked to the outbreak. Those sold between March 5 and April 25 were packaged in plastic clamshells with a label that read “Distributed by Meridian Fruits,” the company said in a statement.

“FreshKampo wants consumers to know that they will continue to work with health officials and supply chain partners to identify where a problem may have occurred in the supply chain and take action. necessary to prevent such incidents from reoccurring”.



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