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The latest edition of The Diagnosis and Management of Foodborne Illness is now available on the American Medical Association Web site (www.ama-assn.org/go/foodborne) for downloading to personal digital assistants. The primer was produced by the AMA in collaboration with several other health professional groups.
The first edition of the primer, released last year, was met with such demand that a PDA edition was created. The primer covers the diagnosis, treatment and reporting of foodborne illness. The latest edition includes sections on hepatitis A, noroviruses, antibiotic-resistant Salmonella, congenital toxoplasmosis and intentional contamination.Continue Reading Foodborne illness primer downloadable

Hepatitis A is TOTALLY PREVENTABLE. Although outbreaks continue to occur in the United States (see Recent Outbreaks), outbreaks NEED NOT OCCUR if responsible preventive measures are taken.
Responsible restaurant managers will exclude ill food-handlers from work, with pay. Food handlers must also be taught to always wash their hands with soap and water after using…

St. Louis Today
1/17/2005
It’s no secret that many of us enjoy singing in the shower. But it seems that more of us should sing at the sink, as well.
Just 20 seconds spent washing your hands – the time it takes to sing the alphabet song, for example – can help ward off germs that cause illness.
With cold and flu season kicking into high gear, proper hand washing with soap and warm water is critical to good health. But in addition to these seasonal illnesses, other diseases – such as hepatitis A, meningitis and infectious diarrhea – can be prevented year-round if we all pick up the hand-washing habit.
Infectious diseases remain the leading cause of death and disease worldwide, as well as the third-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Continue Reading Wash your hands while you sing a song

At onset, the various human hepatitis viruses cause very similar illnesses. Therefore, neither patient nor doctor can tell by symptoms or signs if a given individual is suffering from Hepatitis A. Fortunately, we now have excellent blood tests, widely available, to accurately diagnose Hepatitis A. These are tests for antibodies, i.e. the patient’s immune response…

Mike Giordano
News Channel 11
Jan 11, 5:27 PM EST
Students once again lining up for shots…hoping to protect themselves from the Hepatitis A virus that infected at least 15 of their Unicoi County classmates last June.
This is the second and final vaccine students must get.
“I’m glad they’re taking steps to contain it and take care of it. The health department’s been on top of it,” said parent Mary Jo Sullins.
But, local health officials are still not sure where to pinpoint the outbreak’s origin.
They say that’s common.
“Most of the time when there’s a community-wide outbreak like we have in Unicoi you never determine the root cause just because if you have 15 kids who are symptomatic, you probably have 40 or 50 other kids who also have hepatitis a who don’t have any symptoms,” said Dr. David L. Kirschke, a medical epidemiologist with the Tennessee Department of Health.Continue Reading Health Officials Still Fighting Hepatitis A Virus in Unicoi County

Hepatitis A may cause no symptoms at all when it is contracted, especially in children. Such individuals will only know they were infected (and have become immune — you can only get hepatitis A once) by getting a blood test later in life. However, many children and most adults will experience the sudden onset of an influenza-like illness, starting about 30 days after contracting the hepatitis A virus.
After a day or a few days of muscle aches, headache, anorexia (loss of appetite), abdominal discomfort, fever and malaise, jaundice (also termed “icterus”) sets in. Jaundice is a yellowing of the skin, eyes and mucous membranes that occurs because bile flows poorly through the liver and backs up into the blood. The urine will also turn dark with bile and the stool light or clay-colored from lack of bile. When jaundice sets in, the initial systemic manifestations begin to subside.
Hepatitis A is an acute self-limiting disease.5 “The incubation period of Hepatitis A is 15-50 days, with a mean of about 30 days.”6 The onset of symptoms is typically abrupt, and early manifestations of the disease include fever, intense malaise, anorexia, vomiting, extreme abdominal discomfort, and a persistent and disabling fatigue. There is no specific treatment for hepatitis A virus infection. Treatment and management of the infection is merely supportive.Continue Reading What are the symptoms of infection with Hepatitis A?

Five lawsuits have already been filed against the Chi-Chi’s restaurant chain over a hepatitis A outbreak that has killed three people and sickened more than 600, and scores of other lawsuits are likely to follow.
But legal experts say two key issues facing the company could determine whether victims and their families get the settlements they seek: insurance and bankruptcy.
The Mexican restaurant chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 8, citing cash flow problems, a month before the hepatitis outbreak was confirmed.
On Friday, a bankruptcy judge gave limited approval to Chi-Chi’s plans to begin paying some expenses for those sickened in the outbreak – up to $20,000 per claim. He did not, however, fully approve Chi-Chi’s plan to pay $500,000 on an insurance deductible so the company could tap into as much as $51 million in liability insurance it may need to settle claims. A hearing is set for Tuesday on the matter.Continue Reading Chi-Chi’s Faces Lawsuits Over Hepatitis

A woman who says she contracted hepatitis-A after eating a sandwich at a Mount Vernon McDonald’s has sued the restaurant.
The woman, Helen Cook of Mount Vernon, said she became ill after eating at the Riverside Drive restaurant in February 1998.
McDonald’s did not immediately comment on the lawsuit, filed yesterday in Skagit County Superior Court.
But Seattle attorney William Marler, representing Cook, said her illness is a reminder of how vulnerable Americans have become to disease transmitted through food.
“It just underscores the need for fast-food restaurants to be ever vigilant about how they handle their product, how they cook their product and who they have working,” he said.Continue Reading WOMAN’S SUIT ALLEGES SHE GOT HEPATITIS AT MCDONALD’S