Pets And Some Meat Consumption Play Important Role In HEV, New Study Says
Hepatitis E, like Hepatitis A, is a virus that can be spread through food. It does not get as much attention as Hepatitis A because it is thought to be rare. But, how that is understood may be changing.
The prestigious Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is out with a study that concludes that exposure to the Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) is fairly common--but disease rarely follows the exposure.
The study found antibodies indicating exposure to HEV in 21 percent of the U.S. population between 1988 and 1994. HEV is a major cause of viral hepatitis in many developing countries, but how it is spread in developed countries is not fully known. The study is published in the July 1 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
“Our study shows that animals could play an important role in the spread of HEV in the U.S. Having a dog or pet in the home or consuming meats like liver and other organs were significantly associated with increased odds of exposure to HEV,” said lead author Mark H. Kuniholm, PhD, a 2007 graduate of the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
More can be found in the School's press release or by going to the JID site.
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Maurice Hilleman/Merck Award has gone to Stanley A. Plotkin, M.D., Professor Emeritus, Wistar Institute and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, for his lifetime of dedication to vaccinology, including his role in developing vaccines for Hepatitis A.
About a dozen states comply with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations for vaccines for school-aged children. The states have the power to enforce vaccine requirements at the school house door.
“Liver disease is a serious public health issue in our nation, as it currently affects more than 30 million Americans. Diseases such as Hepatitis are often referred to as “silent diseases” because liver damage can gradually occur over many years before being discovered, which often happens once the damage is irreparable,” stated DPH Commissioner Dr. J. Robert Galvin. “Nationally, hepatitis B and C are major causes of liver cancer, liver transplantation and even death.”
In late April 2008, San Diego County health officials announced that a number of Hepatitis A (HAV)infections had been traced to a Chipotle Grill restaurant in La Mesa, California, near San Diego. Officials advised customers who had eaten at the restaurant between March 1 and April 22 that they might be at risk for infection. As of early May, more than twenty people who ate at the La Mesa restaurant have tested positive for HAV infection. Several of those victims contacted Marler Clark for assistance with their cases. All claims have been settled.
The local health department will be offer vaccinations at Columbine United Church at 6375 South Platte Canyon Road Monday from 4 to 9 p.m. and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.(1).jpg)
VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts said Friday that 10 colonoscopy patients from the VA medical center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., tested positive for hepatitis. She said six patients from a VA clinic in Augusta, Ga., tested positive for unspecified viral infections.
