Dan Farkas, Reporter
4/16/2005
Inside Naploy’s restaurant in La Follette, a man works feverishly with balloons trying to put a smile on a child’s face. Finding any kind of smile is challenging for some workers inside.
“From a business perspective, yeah I’m worried,” said Jason Alvezois.
Normally, Alvezois says 150 will fill the chairs at his place on a given afternoon. Friday that number was 25. He says the Hepatitis A scare is making him sick for a totally different reason.
“People are afraid to go out and eat,” said Alvezois.
Even though you can plainly see the 93% grade from the Campbell County Health Department, even though there is absolutely no indication Napoly’s had a single thing to do with an outbreak of Hepatitis A in Campbell county, it and several other restaurants sit almost empty on a Friday night.

Continue Reading Hepatitis A outbreak hampering area businesses

JACKSBORO, Tenn. – Health officials have confirmed that another person has tested positive for Hepatitis-A in Campbell County. This makes a total of 13 confirmed cases in the area and two suspected.
Most of the people are from the La Follette area, another is from Scott County and one more is in Anderson County.
Right now the health department is waiting for test results from seven restaurant employees who’ve shown some signs of the liver ailment. Those employees are from two different restaurants, neither of which the health department will name.
The potentially ill employees are off the job and the health department says no one else should be at risk of exposure.
Symptoms include nausea, jaundice and dark, brownish urine. Most people recover.

Lee Ann Bowman, Producer
4/16/2005
The Health Department has confirmed that another person has tested positive for Hepatitis-A in Campbell County. This makes a total of 13 confirmed cases in the area and 2 suspected.
Most of the people are from the Lafollette area, another is from Scott County and one more is in Anderson County.
Right now the Health Department is waiting for test results from 7 restaurant employees who’ve shown some signs of Hepatitis-A. Those employees are from 2 different restaurants, neither of which the Health Department will name.
The potentially ill employees are off the job and the Health Department says no one else should be at risk of exposure.

April 15, 2005
By CATHARYN CAMPBELL
6 News Reporter
CAMPBELL COUNTY (WATE) — Health officials say Friday the number of confirmed cases of hepatitis A are growing and the virus is now in three counties.
There are 12 confirmed cases in the region. Ten are in Campbell County, where the investigation centers. There’s one confirmed case in Scott County and one confirmed case in Anderson County.
In Scott and Anderson Counties, the infected people either know a person who’s infected in Campbell County or they’ve eaten at a restaurant that’s being investigated.
The symptoms of hepatitis A include abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea and diarrhea. People with the virus usually experience extreme fatigue, to the point where they don’t want to get out of bed, along with a high fever. Doctors say jaundice is the most notable sign of the virus.

Continue Reading Hepatitis A cases increase, spread to more counties

2005-04-16
A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed important declines in foodborne infections due to common bacterial pathogens in 2004.
For the first time, cases of E. coli O157 infections, one of the most severe foodborne diseases, are below the national Healthy People 2010 health goal. From 1996-2004, the incidence of E. coli O157 infections decreased 42 percent. Campylobacter infections decreased 31 percent, Cryptosporidium dropped 40 percent, and Yersinia decreased 45 percent.

Continue Reading Foodborne Illnesses Continue Downward Trend: 2010 Health Goals For E. Coli 0157 Reached

PITTSBURGH Most of the 600 people sickened by a hepatitis-A outbreak in western Pittsburgh over a year ago have settled with the Chi-Chi’s restaurant chain.
But two people have filed suit against the Louisville restaurant chain.
Martha Funkhouser of Beaver Falls and Reginald Woods of Lake Milton, Ohio, sued the bankrupt chain, saying they suffered liver damage after contracting hepatitis A. They ate at a Chi-Chi’s at the Beaver Valley Mall in October 2003.
Chi-Chi’s settled more than 550 other claims stemming from the outbreak.

By Jill Ricker
Friday, April 15, 2005
LYNN – Two students at the Harrington Elementary School have contracted hepatitis A, but they are no longer contagious, Superintendent of Schools Nicholas Kostan said Thursday.
“We had been notified that a couple of kids who lived in the same house were identified as being diagnosed with hepatitis A,” he said. “By the time we were notified, the contagious period had closed. We got the state Department of Public Health involved. Right away we called them and we really have to follow their lead – we’re just educators, they’re the experts.”
Hepatitis A is a virus that makes your liver swell and stops it from fighting infections, stopping bleeding and removing drugs and other poisons from the blood. It is diagnosed by a blood test.
The virus is found primarily in feces and is spread when contaminated hands, food, or water reach the mouth and the virus is swallowed. Symptoms of the virus are described as flu-like and the virus usually goes away on its own after a few weeks.

Continue Reading Students contract hepatitis

April 13, 2005
CAMPBELL COUNTY (WATE) — The Regional Health Department says Wednesday that it’s investigating five confirmed cases of hepatitis A in Campbell County. There are three other people who have suspected cases.
Of the confirmed cases, three of the five people are being treated at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Campbell County.
Health officials are working on a plan to identify people who may have been exposed to hepatitis A and get them vaccinated.
Each person diagnosed with Hepatitis A has been asked to fill out a form with a series of questions designed to show health workers if there’s a connection between the cases.
The symptoms of hepatitis A include abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea and diarrhea. People with the virus usually experience extreme fatigue, to the point where they don’t want to get out of bed, along with a high fever.

Continue Reading Hepatitis cases being investigated in Campbell Co.