California has 33 Cases in Townsend Farms Hepatitis A Outbreak

The Townsend Farms hepatitis A outbreak has sickened at least 79 people nationwide. The outbreak is growing daily. The state of California has at least 33 of the outbreak cases. Fourteen people have been hospitalized, which is an unusually high number. Other states included in this outbreak are Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington. The state has published an info sheet with information known to date about the affected products along with the retail distribution list of those products.

The recalled products were sold at Costco stores under the name “Townsend Farms Brand Organic Antioxidant Blend” and at Harris Teeter stores under the name “Harris Teeter Brand Antioxidant Berry Blend.” The Harris Teeter product was not sold in California, but was sold in many other states. Many people probably still have this product in their freezers. Please check your freezer to see if you have the recalled product with the “best by” dates and UPC number. If so, discard it immediately and wash your hands thoroughly. You can keep the bag if someone in your family has been sick; double bag it, freeze it, and wash your hands.

Pomegranate seeds in the blend may be the source of the virus. The genotype of virus in this outbreak is Hepatitis A 1B, which is rarely seen in the United States, but is more common in the Middle East and North Africa. The pomegranate seeds in the blend were grown in Turkey.

If you ate or handled this product, please contact your doctor to see if you should get a hepatitis A or immune globulin vaccination. These vaccinations will only work if you receive it within 14 days of exposure. After that time, you need to monitor yourself and family members for symptoms of hepatitis A, which include yellowing of the skin and eyes, pale stools, dark urine, tiredness, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. If you have had hepatitis A in the past, you will most likely not become sick.