KnoxNews
April 20, 2005
Transmitted person-to-person by putting something in the mouth that has been contaminated with infected feces. Infected food handlers can pass virus through food or beverages. Also transmitted on improperly cleaned diaper-handling tables and through raw/partially-cooked shellfish from waters containing raw sewage.
Infected person can transmit two weeks before symptoms occur.
Symptoms include jaundice, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine/light stools, fever. One in 100 have severe, sudden infection that may require liver transplant.
Symptoms appear 2-6 weeks after exposure.
Injection of immune serum globulin antibody can protect against virus 2-3 months.

By Associated Press
April 20, 2005, 5:50
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Unable to find the source of a hepatitis A outbreak in eastern Tennessee, health officials offered to inoculate as many as 5,000 people who ate at a restaurant where an infected food server worked.
Health officials offered free shots Tuesday to anyone potentially exposed at the Waffle House in Clinton from April 5 to April 15, when the restaurant estimates it served as many as 5,000 people.
Dr. Paul Erwin, director of the regional health office, said the infected employee was a victim of the outbreak.
Seventeen cases of hepatitis A, a viral liver disease that can be spread through poor hygiene, have been confirmed in recent weeks. Two people were hospitalized.

Continue Reading 5,000 Face Shots After Hepatitis Outbreak

KnoxNews
Clinton Waffle House employee tests positive for hepatitis A
By KRISTI L. NELSON, nelsonk@knews.com
April 20, 2005
A Clinton restaurant worker has tested positive for the hepatitis A virus, prompting the East Tennessee Regional Health Office to offer shots for residents who might have been exposed while eating at the restaurant.
The infected Waffle House worker is a result of an earlier outbreak in Campbell County, not the cause of it, said Dr. Paul Erwin, ETHRO executive director.
The Anderson County Health Department and ETRHO have planned a mass clinic to give immune serum globulin to people who ate at Clinton’s Waffle House, 2255 N. Charles G. Seviers Blvd., between April 5-15. Immune serum globulin, or ISG, offers protection from the virus when given within 14 days of exposure; those exposed earlier than 14 days ago may still get sick but would not be helped by ISG shots.

Continue Reading Shots given to diner customers, workers

CAMPBELL COUNTY, TX (April 19, 2005) — The Regional Health Department confirmed that a foodservice worker who worked at the Waffle House restaurant located at off Highway 61 in Clinton tested positive for hepatitis A. People who ate at the restaurant between April 1 and April 15, during the time when the worker was infectious, are now at risk for developing hepatitis A infection. The infected Waffle House worker is suspected to be the victim of a larger outbreak of hepatitis A that is believed to have caused at least 17 acute hepatitis A infections. Health officials have traced the outbreak to a restaurant in LaFollette.
The Regional Health Department organized a clinic to inoculate patrons of the restaurant who ate there between April 5 and April 15. The average incubation period for hepatitis A infection is thirty days, but can be as long as fifty days. A person who is infected with hepatitis A is infectious for the two weeks pervious to symptom onset and for two weeks thereafter. Immune globulin shots prevent hepatitis A infection, but only if administered during the two weeks following exposure to the virus.
“It seems that a month hardly passes without a warning from a health department somewhere that an infected food handler is the source of a potential hepatitis A outbreak,” said attorney William Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark, the Seattle law firm dedicated to representing victims of foodborne illness outbreaks.

Continue Reading Marler Clark – Hepatitis A outbreak was preventable

Jeff Webb, Webmaster
4/19/2005
The Regional Health Department confirms that four more people have tested positive for Hepatitis A in the last 24 hours. That brings the total number of Hepatitis A to 17.
Health department officials say a restaurant worker in Clinton is one of those who tested positive. The person is an employee at the Waffle House off of Highway 61 in Clinton.
Health officials say people who dined at that location between April 1 and April 15, 2005 could be exposed. They are specifically concerned about those who have eaten uncooked foods (salads, garnishes, toppings) or iced drinks.
The health department is setting up a clinic today for people to get a shot of serum to ward off the virus. It’s at the Tennessee National Guard Armory on JD Yarnell Parkway in Clinton.

Continue Reading Update: New hepatitis cases confirmed; clinic set up

April 19, 2005
CAMPBELL COUNTY (WATE) — Health officials say Tuesday there are two more confirmed cases of hepatitis A in East Tennessee for a total of 17.
There are 13 cases in Campbell County, one in Anderson and three in Scott.
Investigators are still working to isolate the source of the outbreak that began in Campbell County last week.
The director of the Regional Health Department, Dr. Paul Erwin, said Monday he believes an infected restaurant worker is the likely source. But the employee hasn’t been identified and the health department hasn’t said which restaurant it believes originated the outbreak.

Continue Reading More hepatitis A cases confirmed in Scott Co.

Campbell County/ Knox County
April 19, 2005
Knoxville, Knox County (WVLT) — The East Tennessee Regional Health Department is getting set to release at least one source of the Hepatitis-A outbreak in Campbell County.
The Health Department is expected to release that information at a news conference around 11:45 am.
We also anticipate a release of some phone numbers for a phone bank where you can call to either get more information or report if you have eaten at the restaurant or have any symptoms.
So far there are 13 cases of Hepatitis-A in Campbell and surrounding counties, with 3 cases still pending.
The Health Department says that just because they are releasing one source does not mean that it’s the only source. And they expect more work over the next few weeks as they start hearing from residents in the area.

April 18, 2005
By CATHARYN CAMPBELL
6 News Reporter
CAMPBELL COUNTY (WATE) — Health officials say Monday there are no new confirmed cases of hepatitis A in East Tennessee. However, investigators are still working to isolate the source of the outbreak that began in Campbell County last week.
There are 15 cases confirmed, spread between three counties: 13 in Campbell, one in Anderson and one in Scott.
The director of the Regional Health Department, Dr. Paul Erwin, says he believes an infected restaurant worker is the likely source. But the employee hasn’t been identified and the health department won’t say which restaurant it believes originated the outbreak.
Investigators say they don’t believe there’s an ongoing threat in any Campbell County restaurants.

Continue Reading Investigation of hepatitis A outbreak continues