The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its investigation into the Townsend Farms-Costco hepatitis A outbreak associated with a frozen berry and pomegranate mix. As of June 22, 2013, 119 people in seven states have been confirmed ill with acute hepatitis after consuming the recalled product. The CDC is stating that they are reporting only confirmed cases.
The case count map has been updated and reflects actual case count totals. The outbreak count by state is as follows: Arizona (16), California (61), Colorado (24), Hawaii (5), New Mexico (5), Nevada (5), and Utah (3). Fifty-three people have been hospitalized in this outbreak; there have been no reported deaths. Sixty-nine ill persons (58%) are women; 72 (61%) of ill persons are between the ages of 40 to 64 years. Five children under the age of 18 are sick as part of this outbreak; of these, none have been hospitalized and none were previously vaccinated. Illness onset dates range from 3/31/13 to 6/14/13.
If you purchased the recalled product and ate or touched it within the last 14 days, you should contact your doctor to see if a hepatitis A or immune globulin shot is indicated. If you ate or touched the frozen berry and pomegranate blend more than 14 days ago, monitor yourself for the symptoms of hepatitis A, including nausea, fever, light-colored stool, dark-colored urine, diarrhea, jaundice (yellow skin and eyes), tiredness, loss of appetitive, and abdominal cramps. If you do become ill, see a health care provider.
