By LANCE GAY
Scripps Howard News Service
April 21, 2005
– Disease detectives say they are seeing welcome progress in tracking down some of the deadliest food-borne pathogens after several spectacular outbreaks in recent years.
But food safety experts say the war against food pathogens is far from over. As science and industry make progress in fighting pathogens on one front, new problems and pathogens crop up elsewhere.
Within the last year, the United States saw the biggest outbreak of Hepatitis A, a disease once thought confined to poor countries with inadequate sanitation. Some 540 people in Pennsylvania were infected and three died after eating green onions. Meanwhile, outbreaks of the Norwalk virus beached some luxury cruises and a dangerous strain of E. coli showed up at a Florida petting zoo.

Continue Reading Scientists report progress in fighting food-borne bacteria

April 22, 2005
Amanda Bellinder, All Headline News Contributor
CLINTON, Tennessee (AHN) – Health officials say time is running out for those who at the Clinton Waffle House between April 5 and 15; the diners may need an immune globulin shot which diverts the viral liver disease, hepatitis A, that causes serious illnesses and possibly death.
In order for the shot to be effective, an infected person must have the shot administered within the first 2 weeks of exposure.
As of Wednesday, 1,241 people of the estimated 5,000 who ate at the Waffle House received the shot at the National Guard Armory in Clinton.
No positive hepatitis A cases have been reported among the guests of the diner said Carole Martin, spokeswoman for the East Tennessee Regional Health Office.

Continue Reading Time Running Out For Waffle House Customers Exposed To Hepatitis A

Uncertain of source of outbreak, customers stay away
By DAVID WAHLBERG
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
4/22/05
LAFOLLETTE, Tenn. — Most days, the adobe-styled El Pueblito Mexican Grill in this mountain town about 35 miles north of Knoxville is packed at lunchtime.
On Thursday, the crowd shortly after noon was slim.
But even that was better than last weekend, when hardly anybody showed up, said Mario Ruiz, assistant manager.
“Everybody is afraid to eat in this city,” he said, blaming it on the hepatitis A scare.
The viral liver disease, often serious and occasionally fatal, has sickened 17 local residents in recent weeks. That includes a waitress at a Waffle House off I-75 in Clinton, about 20 miles south of LaFollette. Authorities say she may have exposed as many as 7,000patrons this month during the busy spring break road-trip season.

Continue Reading Hepatitis scare pains restaurants in Tennessee

KENTUCKIANS MIGHT HAVE DINED AT TENNESSEE RESTAURANT
By Cassondra Kirby
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
April 22, 2005
State health officials are concerned that some Kentuckians could be among the more than 5,000 people exposed to hepatitis A while eating at a restaurant along Interstate 75 in Tennessee.
But health officials said time is running out for those who ate at the Waffle House near Clinton, Tenn., from April 5 to April 15 — when many schools were on spring break — and who may need an immune globulin shot. The shot helps ward off the viral liver disease that can cause serious illness and even death in rare cases.
To be effective, the shot must be administered within two weeks of a person’s exposure to the disease, said Carole Martin, spokeswoman for the East Tennessee Regional Health Office.
Kentuckians concerned that they might have been exposed should contact their physicians or an emergency room, health officials said.

Continue Reading Hepatitis A exposure feared

4/21/2005
The recent Hepatitis A outbreak in Campbell County is renewing interest in food safety. According to Food Scientists at the University of Tennessee, at least 57 million people get food poisoning every year.
Research shows most of those cases occur while eating at home, not at a restaurant.
“There’s a very good chance you’ll acquire some kind of food poisoning this year. You’ve got a 33%-35% chance, and I’d go to Las Vegas with those odds,” said UT Food Science Professor Ann Draughon.

Continue Reading UT Scientist: Food poisoning occurs frequently

More than 1,200 who ate at Clinton Waffle House inoculated so far
By KRISTI L. NELSON, nelsonk@knews.com
April 21, 2005
More than 1,200 people who ate at the Waffle House restaurant in Clinton received immune serum globulin to prevent hepatitis A on the first two days of a mass clinic.
Members of East Tennessee Regional Health Office and Anderson County Health Department set up the clinic at the Tennessee National Guard Armory on J.D. Yarnell Parkway in Clinton after ETRHO announced Tuesday that a Waffle House restaurant worker had tested positive for hepatitis A.
The serum will protect people exposed within 14 days. People who ate at the Waffle House, 2255 N. Charles Seivers Blvd. off Interstate 75 in Clinton, between April 7-15 can still receive the shot 8 a.m.-8 p.m. today and 8:30 a.m. to noon Friday, April 22. Those who consumed iced beverages or uncooked foods – such as salads, toppings or garnishes (lemon wedges, lettuce on a sandwich) – are at highest risk for the virus, which causes inflammation of the liver.

Continue Reading Shots to protect against hepatitis A still being given

Thursday, 04/21/05
Associated Press
CLINTON, Tenn. — East Tennessee health workers gave vaccinations to 534 people who might have been exposed to hepatitis A while dining at a Waffle House restaurant.
The shots of immune serum globulin were advised for about 5,000 people who had eaten at the Clinton Waffle House between April 5 and 15 and began being administered at a special emergency clinic that opened Tuesday afternoon and runs through today.
State health officials have confirmed 17 hepatitis A cases in Campbell, Scott and Anderson counties. One of those who became ill is an employee of the Clinton Waffle House, and two people were sick enough to be hospitalized.
The source of the outbreak hasn’t been found, though officials suspect that it may have originated at a different restaurant in LaFollette.

Continue Reading 534 vaccinated who may have been exposed to hepatitis at diner

April 20, 2005
CLINTON (WATE) — Vaccinations continue Wednesday for diners who ate at a Waffle House in Clinton between April 5th and 15th. A worker there has tested positive for hepatitis A.
Officials estimate 5,000 people dined at the Waffle House located at 2255 N. Charles Seviers Blvd. during the specified time. The highest risk is for people who ate uncooked foods, such as salads, or had iced drinks.
A clinic is set up to dispense the shots at the Tennessee National Guard Armory Building on the J.D. Yarnell Parkway in Clinton. The shots are free. They’re only effective if given within 14 days of exposure.
The schedule for shots is as follows:

Continue Reading Shots continue for diners exposed to hepatitis A