Hepatitis Outbreaks and Green Onions... (NC, GA, TN, PA)

[arlo 0]

Updated: 12:22 PM EST
Third Person Dies in Hepatitis Outbreak
By JOE MANDAK, AP

PITTSBURGH (Nov. 14) - Another hepatitis patient died Friday, bringing to three the number of deaths from a hepatitis A outbreak linked to a Mexican restaurant in western Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the restaurant chain said it was removing green onions from the menu in all of its outlets.



AP
A Chi Chi's restaurant closed after the hepatitis outbreak, but officials are unsure of the illness' source.

The patient died around 4:15 a.m. Friday at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, the hospital said in a statement. No other information about the latest victim was released.

More than 400 people have fallen ill from the outbreak, linked to a Chi-Chi's restaurant in the Beaver Valley Mall, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

Jeff Cook, 38, died on Nov. 7 of liver failure in a Pittsburgh hospital. Dineen Wieczorek, 52, died in a Cleveland hospital Wednesday night while awaiting a liver transplant, said her daughter, Darleen Trunzo. Both Cook and Wieczorek had eaten at the restaurant in October, according to their families.

One person diagnosed with hepatitis A remained in critical condition Friday and three were in fair condition at Pittsburgh hospitals.


On Thursday, Louisville, Ky.-based Chi-Chi's announced it was removing green onions from all meals at its 100 restaurants as a precaution, although state and federal health officials said they have yet to pinpoint the cause of the outbreak.

Pennsylvania health officials continued to interview each victim for clues about how the virus spread. Pennsylvania Health Department spokesman Jay Pagni said some of the newer cases may have resulted from people passing the virus to others who hadn't eaten at the restaurant.

Chi-Chi's has agreed to keep the restaurant closed until Jan. 2 - two months after it voluntarily closed following initial reports of the disease.



Chi-Chi's Chief Operating Officer Bill Zavertnik said in a statement Thursday night that the restaurant chain was pulling green onions from meals because they are ''the prime suspect of recent hepatitis A outbreaks in various other states.''

Contaminated green onions are suspected of being responsible for a recent outbreaks in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

''We have no definitive information that green onions were involved in this outbreak. But out of an abundance of caution we have decided to remove this ingredient from our menu,'' Zavertnik said.

Infectious disease experts say finding the source of the outbreak can be challenging because hepatitis A has a long incubation period, meaning the virus could be spread to many places before it's detected. Pennsylvania health officials didn't begin warning the public until Nov. 3.

The disease can be spread by an infected person who doesn't wash his hands before handling food, eating utensils or even ice used in drinks. It can also be spread on uncooked foods, like green onions. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating.

[freeflir29 0]

And people keep saying meat is dangerous.....

[ripper0289 0]

The toll is now up to three people dead for no other reason than incompetence. Hepatitis A is transmitted through the oral-fecal route, basically improper hand washing technique after making poo-poo. Some lazy fucktard didn't wash his or her hands, and now three people are dead. I'm not a fan of lawyers, but I hope this resturant chain gets sued into bankruptcy and those responsible get jail time. There's just no excuse for this.

[flyangel2 2]

I so agree. When the general public goes to a restaurant, we trust that the conditions under which our food is prepared that we're going to be eating, is done correct. How hard is it to wash your hands?

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[freeflir29 0]

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Some lazy fucktard didn't wash his or her hands, and now three people are dead

Actually....maybe not. I just saw an article not long ago on several diseases that are transmitted through produce. The root cause is usually contaminated water at the original harvesting/processing site. In the example they used it was a dairy farm next to the barn in which the produce was washed and packed for shipping. Once contaminated the produce has to be washed EXCEEDINGLY well to get rid of all the bacteria.

[ripper0289 0]

True, it can be spread through produce, but why haven't similar outbreaks occured in other locations. There are quite a few Chi-chi's around here, and I don't think that this particular resturant had it's own specific produce supply. If it was from the produce, I would expect that the cases would be more widespread among locations, and that the number of cases per resturant would be lower. To have so many cases in one resturant makes me think that this was a person, not an infected green onion.

[freeflir29 0]

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To have so many cases in one resturant makes me think that this was a person, not an infected green onion.

I'm no Epidemiologist but I would say your reasoning is sound.

[Nightingale 0]

different batches of produce can come from different local farms...

if you are a restaurant owner and order six flats of strawberries from "Sunshine Strawberry Farms, inc" each of those flats could, in theory, come from an individiual grower.

[alanab 0]

thats my roommates hometown: beaver

[ripper0289 0]

Hepatitis A outbreak: Feds halting scallions from 8 Mexican firms -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is preventing green onions from eight Mexican firms from entering this country after an investigation showed contaminated scallions from those companies made their way to the Beaver County Chi-Chi's restaurant, and restaurants in Georgia and Tennessee, prompting outbreaks of hepatitis A in all three locales.
I stand corrected, I was wrong, looks like it was the scallions after all.

[freeflir29 0]

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thats my roommates hometown: beaver

Aren't we all from there?