The Tropical Smoothie Cafe Hepatitis A outbreak continues to expand and now includes at least 81 confirmed cases in seven states. The outbreak has been linked to frozen strawberries imported from Egypt which, the company says, were removed from all stores on August 9. Most of the illnesses are in Virginia where the case count increased from 55 yesterday to 66 today. Hepatitis A has can take as long as 50 days to incubate, so although these cases are newly confirmed, they stem from contaminated smoothies served at Tropical Smoothie Cafes before August 9. The 66 people sickened in Virginia range in age from 14 to 68 and reported onset of illnesses dates ranging from May to August. About 42 percent of them were so sick they required hospitalization. The case count by region of the … [Read more...]
35 Sick in Tropical Smoothie Cafe Hepatitis A Outbreak
The Tropical Smoothie Cafe Hepatitis A outbreak now includes 35 people, an increase of seven cases since the last update from the Virginia Department of Health. The most recent report of onset of illness is August 19, according to a health department spokeswoman. At of Friday, August 26, 2016, the 35 cases had been reported in four parts of the state: 14 in Northern Virginia, 5 in Northwest Virginia, 10 in Eastern Virginia, and 6 in Central Virginia. The outbreak has been linked to frozen strawberries imported from Egypt. Anyone who has ordered a smoothie or other food containing frozen strawberries from at a Tropical Smoothie Cafe in recent weeks should see a doctor and mention exposure to Hepatitis A. Symptoms of a Hepatitis A infection include: fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, … [Read more...]
