April 2005

By JOE MANDAK, Associated Press Writer
PITTSBURGH — Bankrupt Chi-Chi’s Inc. and its subsidiaries have tentatively agreed to pay $800,000 to compensate nearly 9,500 people who got inoculated because of a hepatitis outbreak linked to a western Pennsylvania restaurant.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the class action settlement agreement, which must still be filed in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware, from William Marler, a Seattle attorney who represents the plaintiffs’ class.Continue Reading Chi-Chi’s to Pay $800K for Hepatitis Shots

Friday, April 29, 2005
By 13News
Patrons of Alice Mae’s Soul Food Restaurant who may have been exposed to Hepatitis A and haven’t been treated yet have a chance to do so this weekend.
The Norfolk Health Department will be open Saturday and Sunday mornings because there’s been a big demand, officials said Friday.
Not all patrons have to worry about exposure. There is only concern if you were at the restaurant after 5:00 p.m. on April 16 through the 19th and drank an iced beverage or ate cornbread.
HOURS:Continue Reading Hepatitis A clinic hours extend into weekend

By Jennifer Heldt Powell
A hepatitis A scare last summer is providing an expensive lesson to Friendly’s Ice Cream Corp.
The company plans to pay $200 each to up to 3,000 people who stood in line, some for hours, for shots to protect them from the disease after eating at an Arlington Friendly’s.
The payments to settle a class-action lawsuit could add up to $645,000, including lawyers fees.Continue Reading Cleaning up their acts: Bay State restaurants working to avoid health scares

4/29/2005
Knox County health officials say the hepatitis-A case at Powell High School isn’t connected to an outbreak of at least 18 other cases in surrounding counties.
Officials suspect the student got the disease while on a mission trip to Guatemala.
Knox County schools spokesman Russ Oaks says Powell High School administrators sent home a letter to parents, explaining the situation Thursday.Continue Reading Knox County Case Not Thought Related To Others Nearby

Case not connected with recent ones
By ANSLEY HAMAN, hamana@knews.com
April 29, 2005
A Powell High School student tested positive for hepatitis A on Thursday, but Knox County Health Department officials said the case is not connected with recent ones in surrounding counties.
The student received confirmation of the viral disease, which health officials suspect he contracted on a mission trip to Guatemala, said Charity Menefee, Health Department spokeswoman.
The student’s pediatrician alerted the Health Department early in the week of the possible case. An investigation ensued, but no precautions were taken until the student received confirmation of the results around noon Thursday.Continue Reading Powell High student has hepatitis A

By JODY RECORD
Union Leader Correspondent
HAMPTON — A suspected case of hepatitis A is being investigated by the state after receiving a report of a fast-food restaurant employee showing similar symptoms of the disease.
Dr. Jose Montero of the Public Health Office in Concord confirmed yesterday tests are being done on “a food worker from a food establishment” for a possible case of hepatitis A. He described symptoms as including nausea, vomiting and a yellowing of the skin.
“There’s no diagnosis of hepatitis A in a person, but there is a person who is suspicious,” Montero said. “The person was not working today. They have been tested.”Continue Reading Hampton fast-food worker tested for hepatitis

4/27/2005
A restaurant worker in Scott County is among those confirmed with hepatitis-A in East Tennessee.
But health officials say they don’t believe the viral liver disease was spread to people who ate at the restaurant.
There have been 18 cases of hepatitis-A reported in Anderson, Campbell and Scott counties.
One of those was an…

Anthony E. Fiore
Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta
Hepatitis A is caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV). Transmission occurs by the fecal-oral route, either by direct contact with an HAV-infected person or by ingestion of HAV-contaminated food or water. Foodborne or waterborne hepatitis A outbreaks are relatively uncommon in…

Martin I. Meltzer – Craig N. Shapiro – Eric E. Mast and Christine Arcari
Office of the Director, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mailstop D-59, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
Hepatitis Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
Received 4 February 2000; revised 26 July 2000; accepted 26 September 2000 Available online 22 February 2001.
The economics of vaccinating restaurant workers against hepatitis A were studied using Monte Carlo simulation models, one with a restaurant-owner perspective, and one with a societal perspective. The restaurant model allowed for a different size, number of employees and employee turnover rate. Benefits were the avoidance of loss of business (including the possibility of bankruptcy) after publicity linking the restaurant to an outbreak associated with a case of hepatitis A in a food handler.Continue Reading The economics of vaccinating restaurant workers against hepatitis A

Opinion Editorial
William D. Marler
April 27, 2005
In the last two weeks 1,200 High School and Elementary School students from Stockton, California, 5,000 patrons of a Clinton, Tennessee Waffle House, and thousands who ate a Norfolk, Virgina Soul Food Restaurant all have something in common — all are being urged to get Immune Globulin (Ig) shots to prevent the infection and further spread of hepatitis A after being exposed to a hepatitis A infected foodservice worker.
It seems that hardly a month passes without a warning from a health department somewhere that an infected food handler is the source of yet another potential hepatitis A outbreak. Absent vaccinations of food handlers, combined with an effective and rigorous hand washing policy, there will continue to be more hepatitis A outbreaks. It is time for health departments across the country to require vaccinations of foodservice workers, especially those that serve the very young and the elderly.Continue Reading Call for Hepatitis A Vaccinations for all Foodservice Workers