A hepatitis A outbreak has sickened 23 people after they visited the Mendham Golf and Tennis Club in Mendham Township, New Jersey. This is a members only club. A food handler was diagnosed with hepatitis A and worked at the club while infectious. One person is “seriously ill,” according to the press release by the New Jersey Department of Health.
The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) is investigating a case of hepatitis A in a food service worker that could have led to possible exposure for restaurant customers.
An employee of Los Encinos Mexican Grill (132 W. Main Street) in Calhoun City, MS has been diagnosed with hepatitis A virus, and patrons who ate at the restaurant from July 5 to July 23 might have been exposed.
“The risk of transmission is likely low, but anyone who dined at the restaurant during that time period should consider getting a hepatitis A vaccination from their healthcare provider, pharmacy or any county health department, if they have not been previously immunized” said MSDH State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers.
More than 130 foodborne outbreaks were recorded in Finland between 2014 and 2016, according to a recent report.
Data comes from a register of foodborne and waterborne outbreaks maintained by the former Finnish Food Safety Authority (Evira) that became the Finnish Food Authority (Ruokavirasto) at the beginning of this year.
The number of people infected from foodborne pathogens was 2,761 in 132 outbreaks. Forty-eight people needed hospital treatment. No deaths were reported.
Vegetables and meat common food sources
Norovirus remained the most common agent in foodborne outbreaks between 2014 and 2016. It was responsible for 42, or 32 percent, of such outbreaks.
According to press reports an employee who handles food at the Roadhouse 100 restaurant on Missouri Highway 100 in the unincorporated community of Gray Summit was diagnosed with hepatitis A, officials with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said Tuesday. Anyone who ate at Roadhouse 100 between June 23 and July 5 is advised to receive the hepatitis A vaccination within 14 days to prevent illness.
The incident is being investigated by the Franklin County Health Department.
A food worker at the Wendy’s at 165 Scenic Highway in Lawrenceville, Georgia, near Atlanta, has been diagnosed with hepatitis A, according to the Gwinnett County Health Department. That person worked there between June 13 and June 29, 2019.
The Sarasota County Health Department (CHD) has identified a case of Hepatitis A in a food service worker in Sarasota. Following laboratory confirmation on July 3, Sarasota CHD immediately began conducting an epidemiological investigation and today determined that the individual worked at Piccolo Italian Market & Deli located at 6518 Gateway Avenue while infectious.
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A team of investigators has made a key discovery that could make a vaccine for the norovirus a reality.
A study published in the journal Immunity describes how a research team discovered an antibody that is capable of broadly inhibiting several strains of pandemic norovirus.
“In order to design an effective vaccine for norovirus, scientists needed to identify a neutralizing antibody that could work against many strains of the virus, as well as strains that will circulate in the future,” Ralph Baric, PhD, an author on the study, said in a press release. “This information can now be used to build better human vaccines.”
Human noroviruses are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis and account for nearly 1 in 5 cases of diarrhea and vomiting. Estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that noroviruses cause approximately 200,000 deaths per year, which mostly occur in infants, children, and the elderly.
Although there are more than 30 genotypes of human norovirus, approximately 60% of outbreaks are caused by GII.4 genotype strains, which have caused periodic human pandemics.
The study team comprised investigators from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of Texas at Austin, and the National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Center. The team says that the most important discovery of their research is that a human antibody can bind to a conserved region of the virus that is common in the various strains, potentially neutralizing all GII.4 strains of norovirus that exist in nature.
Manatee County health officials announced Wednesday of a hepatitis A case in a food service worker at the Ugly Grouper restaurant located at 5704 Marina Drive in Holmes Beach.
The Manatee County Health Department (CHD) advises if you frequented this restaurant prior to June 22 and have not previously been vaccinated for Hepatitis A, you should consider being vaccinated at your local county health department or primary care physician’s office.
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