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 copy of the crowd now ill in a hepatitis A outbreak that may be tied to a frozen berry/pomegranate blend continues to rise, US health officials said. As of June 5, 2013, 61 masses in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Hawaii and California have been reported woe 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 identify at Costco and under the Harris Teeter sort at that secure 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 number nausea, fever, lethargy, jaundice and trouncing of appetite. There's a vaccine against hepatitis A, and it may leisure symptoms if given soon after aspect 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 inception of illnesses categorize 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 result from Costco markets, but investigators are still annoying to act on if the product was also sold at other stores besides Costco and Harris Teeter, the CDC said. Costco has removed the fallout from its shelves and is notifying members who purchased the product since lately February 2013.

As of Tuesday, Harris Teeter Supermarkets has also voluntarily pulled the frozen biological berry blend from its store shelves, the AP said. Preliminary laboratory analyses of specimens from two patients suggest the hepatitis A race responsible for the outbreak is rare in North America but is base 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 grade with pomegranate seeds from Egypt, the CDC said. The hallmark on the Townsend Farms work says it contains products from the United States, Argentina, Chile and Turkey.

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