The Number Infected With Hepatitis From The Frozen Berries Grows In The USA

The Number Infected With Hepatitis From The Frozen Berries Grows In The USA.
The bunch of commonality now ill in a hepatitis A outbreak that may be tied to a frozen berry/pomegranate intermingle continues to rise, US health officials said. As of June 5, 2013, 61 forebears in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Hawaii and California have been reported wretched with hepatitis A that may be connected to Townsend Farms Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend frozen berry and pomegranate mix, according to an update issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Tuesday, Oregon-based Townsend Farms recalled the frozen berry mixes, which were sold to Costco and Harris Teeter stores.

The mixes were sold under the Townsend Farms trade mark at Costco and under the Harris Teeter label at that fetter of stores, the Associated Press reported. According to the World Health Organization, hepatitis A illnesses typically rise within 14 and 28 days of infection. Symptoms may encompass nausea, fever, lethargy, jaundice and waste of appetite. There's a vaccine against hepatitis A, and it may adeptness symptoms if given soon after jeopardy to the virus.

Data from interviews with 30 patients affected in the new outbreak shows that 37 percent have been hospitalized, with ages ranging from 2 to 71 years. The dates of the creation of illnesses across from April 29 to May 27, 2013. 22 of the 30 patients who were interviewed said they ate Townsend Farms Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend frozen berry and pomegranate mix.

Twenty-two patients said they bought the by-product from Costco markets, but investigators are still vexing to condition if the product was also sold at other stores besides Costco and Harris Teeter, the CDC said. Costco has removed the result from its shelves and is notifying members who purchased the product since current February 2013.

As of Tuesday, Harris Teeter Supermarkets has also voluntarily pulled the frozen structural berry blend from its store shelves, the AP said. Preliminary laboratory analyses of specimens from two patients suggest the hepatitis A derivation responsible for the outbreak is rare in North America but is reciprocal in Africa and the Middle East.

The strain was pinpointed as the cause of a recent hepatitis A outbreak in Europe linked to frozen berries and to a 2012 outbreak in British Columbia associated with a frozen berry fuse with pomegranate seeds from Egypt, the CDC said. The ID on the Townsend Farms commodity says it contains products from the United States, Argentina, Chile and Turkey.

Speaking to the AP, Bill Gaar, a King's counsel representing Townsend Farms, said last week that the recalled artefact did contain pomegranate seeds from Turkey. The Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend was the only Townsend Farms work to contain such seeds deerantler. "We do have very good records, we know where the (pomegranate seeds) came from, we're looking into who the stockjobber is and we're sourcing it back up the food chain to get to it," Gaar told AP.