ATLANTA | September 21, 2005
Scientists in Atlanta say they employed a novel use of genetic testing methods to control the spread of food-borne hepatitis A in 2003.
Joseph Amon and colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the molecular epidemiologic methods had not previously been used in an ongoing investigation of a hepatitis A virus outbreak.
The CDC investigators used genetic sequencing analysis to identify the source of the virus found in blood samples from 422 cases of hepatitis A in Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia during September 2003.Continue Reading Genetic testing stops hepatitis A outbreak

Sep. 20, 2005
Nizhni Novgorod prosecutors brought in September 19, 2005 an action concerning the outbreak of hepatitis A in Nizhni Novgorod. As of Monday, as much as 751 residents of the region have been taken to hospital, the number of diseased grows by 100 people each day. The extent of the epidemic points to “complete breakdown of the housing and communal services in the region.”
Now the prosecutors are studying several possible causes that could have triggered the epidemic. The core story is breakdown of sewerage at the water supply system of Nizhni Novgorod.Continue Reading Nizhni Novgorod Got Hepatitis on Decayed Water Supply Sysem

Tanya Mendis
September 19,2005
Health inspectors still have not explained why they won’t give the location of a confirmed case of Hepatitis A at a restaurant in Walker County, Georgia.
McDonald’s corporate office confirmed the location and says the threat has been removed, the question remains however, why would the PUBLIC health department refuse to share important information with the public?
Health department representative Logan Boss says the reason the department is still mum is because they did what they were supposed to do: protect the public from health risks.
But some people question why the health deparment won’t talk.
“I would think we have to ask the individual at the health department the reason for not disclosing it,” says Greg Edwards, who had not heard about the hepatitis case. “There must be some reason for that.”Continue Reading Health Department Still Silent on Hepatitis

19.09.2005
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, September 19 (Itar-Tass) – The latest reports from Nizhny Novgorod say that 710 people, including 137 children, have been hospitalised with the diagnosis of hepatitis A in Russia’s third-largest city after Moscow and St. Petersburg.
All infection hospitals are full, and 200 additional beds have been prepared in clinics of other specialties, health department director Vladimir Lazarev said at a weekly meeting in the mayor’s office on Monday.
He said the flow of patients had somewhat decreased — 36 people contacted city hospitals with complaints suspicious of hepatitis A, a viral liver disease.Continue Reading 710 people, including 137 children, hospitalised with hepatitis A in Nizhny Novgorod

2005-09-18
Six hundred and seventy-four people have been hospitalized in Nizhny Novgorod with a preliminary diagnosis of A type hepatitis. Hospitals admitted 43 patients, including 12 children, over the past day, director of the city health department Vladimir Lazarev told on Sunday.
He said city hospitals still have 200 beds for adults and 40 for children. There is enough vaccine and medicines. Every schoolchild and teacher can receive a hepatitis inoculation for free.Continue Reading Nizhny Novgorod: 674 hospitalized with A type hepatitis

Tanya Mendis
September 17,2005
Representatives from McDonald’s Corporate Office in Atlanta responded to the confirmed case Hepatitis-A in Walker County.
When NewsChannel 9 first reported the story, neither the store manager nor the health department would confirm they found the virus at the Highway 27 location in Chickamauga.
But, after we placed phone calls to the McDonald’s district manager and the corporate office, McDonald’s Opeerations Manager Nadine Cox issued this statement:Continue Reading McDonald’s Response to Hepatitis-A Claim

16 September, 2005
THE Alabama Department of Public Health is investigating an outbreak of hepatitis A. Since the beginning of September, 13 cases have been reported from scattered areas of the state. The investigation is still in progress.
However, it appears that most of these patients may have contracted the disease after eating raw oysters. Of the 11 patients who have been interviewed, 10 have eaten raw oysters in the period two to six weeks before getting sick. Most had eaten the raw oysters about a month before becoming ill. “Even if these cases of hepatitis A were infected by eating raw oysters, this outbreak was not caused by Hurricane Katrina,” said Dr. Donald Williamson, state health officer. “All of the persons had eaten the raw oysters before Katrina hit the coast.” In fact, most of the individuals ate the raw oysters about two weeks before Katrina.Continue Reading US Alabama: Oysters cause hepatitis A concern

Tanya Mendis
September 15,2005
Health officials say they found a confirmed case of Hepatitis-A in a food services employee in Walker County last week.
And while they say they are confident this is an isolated incident, the public still needs to be alert.
“People always need to be concerned about Hep-A,” says Logan Boss of the Northwest Georgia public health department. “For that reason, we tell people to practice basic hygene procedures.”
Health officials say Hepatitis-A is usually spread through improper hygene and sanitary practices. They say people who work in food services are more likely to contract the disease and that’s what happened in this case.Continue Reading Hepatitis-A Found in Walker County Restaurant