Several health officials in the US and Canada are reportedly investigating a Hepatitis A outbreak that is supposedly associated to organic strawberries bought between March and April.
The US Food and Drug Administration has advised citizens to not consume strawberry brands such as HEB and FreshKampo, which are sold across large grocery shops such as Kroger, Aldi, Safeway, Trader Joe's, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Walmart, among other big chains.
According to the agency, epidemiologic as well as traceback data revealed that fresh organic strawberries sold by FreshKampo and HEB brands between the 5th of March, 2022, and 25th of April, 2022, were the likely cause of the outbreak.
According to an official press release, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as state and local partners, are probing the infections.
According to the FDA, the Hepatitis A cases that were reported in Minnesota, California, and Canada were linked to persons who bought organic strawberry brands.
In the United States, there were 17 cases documented, with 15 in California, one in North Dakota, and one in Minnesota, with 12 people needing hospitalization. The most recent case was supposedly reported on April 30.
While the strawberries in question have passed their expiration date, the FDA has advised that anyone who may have frozen them should discard them. The FDA also encouraged people to reach out to their nearest healthcare provider in case they develop any symptoms.
For the uninitiated, some of the more common Hepatitis A symptoms include fatigue, dark urine, vomiting, nausea, and stomach pain, among others. People can contract the disease after consuming infected food or drinking polluted water.
The organic strawberry-based outbreak apparently comes in the midst of a worldwide pediatric hepatitis outbreak.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between April 5 and May 26, over 650 cases of severe pediatric hepatitis have been reported across 33 countries.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new recommendations on testing for adenovirus in children as a probable cause of pediatric outbreaks, however it is currently unclear whether the two are connected.
Source credit: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3505741-us-canada-investigating-strawberries-linked-to-hepatitis-a-outbreak/
