April 2006

by Paul Cachia, di-ve news (pcachia@di-ve.com)
SENGLEA, Malta (di-ve news)–April 07, 2006 — The Staff and pupils at the Senglea primary school were immunised against Hepatitis A.
Three children were struck down with the virus. The symptoms of Hepatitis A, which is an infection of the liver, include fever, vomiting and diarrhoea.
The Health Division said that the immunisation programme was being offered to the school as a precautionary measure.
“The most important thing people can do is wash their hands after going to the toilet and before and after eating”, it said in a statement.Continue Reading Hepatitis A outbreak hits school

By Debra Filcman/ Staff Writer
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Everyone asks a neighbor for help once in a while, even cities and towns, but there aren’t official procedures in place to do it.
That may soon change if voters approve Article 16 at Town Meeting this year. The article would create a formal mutual aid agreement, much like those used by fire departments, between the health departments of 28 cities and towns in the commonwealth.
“It’s just a structure for requesting aid from other communities,” Health Director Janice Berns said. “We already have an informal understanding with other towns; this just formalizes it.”Continue Reading A little help from our friends

On November 6, 2004, the Chemung County Health Department issued a hepatitis A news release announcing that four persons had confirmed hepatitis A infections which were traceable to the Maple Lawn Dairy Family Restaurant in Elmira. The Health Department also advised that persons who had eaten at the defendant’s restaurant between September 26 and October…

April 6, 2006
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
It’s been a week since the last case of hepatitis A was reported to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, so officials think the spread of the disease has been stopped.
The health department’s disease investigators also have found that of the 14 people who had hepatitis A, six of them — four adults and two children — live in Bourbon County. All treatment of the ill people is complete.
The Bourbon County Health Department has been notified.
The Fayette County Health Department is checking into the 14th case to confirm the lab results. A hepatitis A antibody test apparently showed the presence of hepatitis A in the person’s system, but the person might not have exhibited symptoms of hepatitis A.Continue Reading Hepatitis spread apparently halts

Wed, Apr. 05, 2006
HERALD-LEADER STAFF REPORT
It’s been a week since the last case of hepatitis A was reported to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, so officials think the spread of the disease has been stopped.
The health department’s disease investigators also have found that of the 14 people who had hepatitis A, six of them — four adults and two children — live in Bourbon County. All treatment of the ill people is complete.Continue Reading Health officials say hepatitis outbreak appears to have been halted

Pennsylvania State health officials first learned of a potential HAV outbreak from emergency room doctors in Beaver County, who reported an unusually high number of hepatitis A cases in late October, 2003. Investigators from the health department began investigating the people who had fallen ill, and determined that the common thread for all was having eaten at the Chi-Chi’s restaurant at the Beaver Valley Mall. Once the department isolated the restaurant as the probable source of the outbreak, Chi-Chi’s closed the restaurant voluntarily and it remained closed for a number of weeks.
Continue Reading CHI-CHI’S BEAVER VALLEY MALL HEPATITIS-A OUTBREAK

In mid-October, 1999, an unusually high number of hepatitis-A cases were reported among individuals residing in Northeast Seattle and Snohomish County. At the same time, the Snohomish Health District reported an increased number of hepatitis-A cases reported among individuals who resided in Snohomish County, but who worked in the Northeast Seattle area. Because the infected individuals had no other identified risk factor for hepatitis A, health department officials quickly suspected the existence of an hepatitis-A outbreak with a common foodborne source located in Northeast Seattle.
Continue Reading THE SUBWAY HEPATITIS A OUTBREAK

In early December, 2000, Lake County Health Department (LCHD) learned of seven hepatitis A cases, including five hospitalizations, in Lake and neighboring Sumter Counties in a two week span. During the previous two years, the total number of known hepatitis A cases in Lake County was twenty-two. Recognizing the possibility of an outbreak, LCHD notified the Florida Department of Health.
Continue Reading 2000 TACO BELL HEPATITIS A OUTBREAK

April 4, 2006
Health officials in Lexington remain concerned about Hepatitis A, but they point to some good news.
A spokesperson for the Health Department says the outstanding test results for all students and staff are back from last week’s clinics.
None tested positive for the potentially dangerous virus.
So far, there are 13 confirmed…

Fri, Mar. 31, 2006
Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Four new cases of hepatitis A were found in Fayette County, bringing to 14 the number of people affected by the illness, but health investigators haven’t determined how some of the people became sick.
T.J. Sugg, regional epidemiologist for the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, said the investigation is continuing, especially since three of the recent cases have no obvious connection to the prior cases.
The first reported cases were among an extended family in two households. The family’s toddler was exposed to hepatitis A while traveling outside the United States. The family’s kindergartner, who attends Mary Todd Elementary, passed it to two classmates. Then a neighbor of the family got the disease.Continue Reading Four new cases of hepatitis A found in Fayette County