Hepatitis Outbreak Surging

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/thrive/2003/nov/15/111509066.html ^

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/thrive/2003/nov/15/111509066.html

Surging

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Uups. Text coming up.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Pa. Hepatitis a Cases Exceed 500
By JOE MANDAK
ASSOCIATED PRESS

PITTSBURGH (AP) -

The number of people infected in a hepatitis A outbreak linked to a western Pennsylvania restaurant has exceeded 500 and is likely to continue rising for another week, state Health Department officials said Saturday.

Three people infected with the virus have died, and thousands have lined up for inoculations since the outbreak was reported in early November among people who ate at a Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurant.

A Chi-Chi's executive said the company has adopted "extraordinary measures" companywide, including sickness logs for employees and asking workers to sign "wellness statements" asserting they are not ill, in an effort to prevent similar outbreaks elsewhere.

As of Saturday, 510 cases of hepatitis A had been confirmed in the outbreak, Pennsylvania Health Department spokesman Richard McGarvey said.

He said more infections are expected because people who contract hepatitis A typically don't exhibit its early flu-like symptoms for 28 to 30 days.

The state started offering antibody inoculations Nov. 5, shortly after the first cases were diagnosed, to anyone who ate at the restaurant after Oct. 22. The antibody greatly reduces the risk of hepatitis A developing, but it must be given within two weeks of exposure.

The virus' nearly monthlong incubation period means people exposed before Oct. 22 could still start showing symptoms through next weekend. In severe cases, it can lead to liver failure.

"We still haven't reached that date, when all those inoculations are going to help," McGarvey said Saturday. After Nov. 22, health officials expect the number of new infections to level off and eventually stop, he said.

About 8,500 people received the shots because of the outbreak linked to a Chi-Chi's at the Beaver Valley Mall, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

All 60 employees of that restaurant will remain under medical supervision until each has been medically cleared, said Bill Zavertnik, chief operating officer at Louisville, Ky.-based Chi-Chi's. The restaurant is closed until Jan. 2.

Eleven employees who tested positive for hepatitis A remain under medical care and the rest were given antibodies, Zavertnik said.

The company already certifies its managers in food handling safety, in addition to the new employee health measures initiated at all of its restaurants, scattered from Minnesota to the mid-Atlantic states.

Zavertnik said Chi-Chi's food purchasers are cooperating with investigators to identify the source of the outbreak and the company has hired an outside medical expert to work with the federal Centers for Disease Control and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Health investigators say they still don't know the source of the virus. They're looking at foods, including green onions, which are difficult to clean and have been linked to smaller outbreaks in other states.

Chi-Chi's removed green onions, or scallions, from all of its restaurants as a precaution, Zavertnik said.

Richard Quartarone, a spokesman for the Georgia Division of Public Health, said that while outbreaks in September in Tennessee and Georgia, neither linked to Chi-Chi's restaurants, were believed to have stemmed from green onions, investigators don't know how the virus got there and the two cases involved different strains of the virus.

"It's possible they're connected. It could have been a grower or a contaminated water source," he said. "Was there a sewer break at the time the onions were picked? Or was it people picking and bunching them?"

Zavertnik wouldn't comment on lawsuits that have been filed as a result of the outbreak. He said he didn't know details about the restaurant's green onion supplier.

The Food and Drug Administration said green onions and foods containing green onions should be cooked thoroughly to reduce or eliminate the risk of contracting hepatitis A. Foods such as salsa, green salads and tuna salad often contain raw or lightly cooked green onions.

---

Associated Press Writer Judy Lin contributed to this report

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

meeknming.... So far, 510 infected from a single restaurant. Incubation time is 28 or more days, so the outbrreak could reach huge numbers.

[Ophiucus]

*sniff sniff*

Methinks a lawsuit stampede I smell.

[Dane]

Actually the outbreak is slowing a bit. The number of cases is up to 530 with 3 deaths. There seems to be about 5-10 new cases a day.

The panic in Pittsburgh has subsided a bit, but that doesn't stop the vultures(trial lawyers) who are already running ads.

[prisoner6]

The panic in Pittsburgh has subsided a bit...

Hey Dane..howsyunz dooin n'at? I've had people call the radio station asking stuff like..."I grow green onions in my garden. Are they safe to eat?"

'Burghers...Lord luv 'em...somebody has to...sigh.

prisoner6

[Dane]

Hey Dane..howsyunz dooin n'at? I've had people call the radio station asking stuff like..."I grow green onions in my garden. Are they safe to eat?"

'Burghers...Lord luv 'em...somebody has to...sigh

Everything is good n'at.

I would tell them if they don't water their gardens with toilet water, they should be fine.

That's my theory. These green onions were watered with contaminated water.

The putz-gazette actually has a pretty good Q & A section about this Hepatitis A epidemic on their web site.

[leadpenny]

Blood out of a turnip!

I just found the stock symbol for the parent company of Chi-Chi's (Prandium Inc., PRDM.PK). They are trading for $.13 a share and are in receivership.

[doosee]

Sometimes you have to wonder if its safe to eat at any restaurant. With people constantly coughing, sniffling, sneezing etc. --- kitchens are like germ factories.

[Glenn]

They are trading for $.13 a share and are in receivership.

Fortunately for Edgar Snyder & Associates, their insurance carriers remain solvent.

[ventana]

Terrorists would be able to release germs through fast food establishments. V's wife.

[aardvark1]

If you like Chi-Chi's sounds like you better eat there this weekend. They may not be around until Monday.

New space for rent at many of America's malls.

[doosee]

Wasn't Chi-Chi's founded by a couple of Penn State guys who spent a little time out near Denver and decided to get into the Tex Mex food business? They likely sold out years ago for millions or zillions

[OldFriend]

There is a logical explanation for that 'green onions' question. The news media has not mentioned the name of a restaurant, simply saying the outbreak was caused by green onions.

This is totally irresponsible but that's the way the news is being reported here in the NY metro area. Not once have I heard any mention of a restaurant or infected employees at that restaurant.

[leadpenny]

Prandium also has Koo-Koo-Roo's (half dozen on west coast) and Hamburger Hamlets (half dozen in California and three in DC area). My guess is that they are toast.

[Guenevere]

asking workers to sign "wellness statements"..

Oh sure, this will fix everything....

..Personally, I think the restaurant business has gotten as PC as everything else, and they're too afraid to demand high standards of cleanliness and hygiene because they might offend someone!

I remember when food handlers had to have a basic health exam, and take a tuberculin test BEFORE they could serve food to folks!

Have you ever noticed the little signs in the restrooms...

..It's usually Please wash hands ..(to employees)

Please?....Please?.....

Guess what...Some employees wouldn't understand basic handwashing in the first place.....and others would assume the sign wasn't for them.

I even had a restaurant employee (an older lady) tell me, the customer, how appalled she was that the younger workers were so careless with handwashing.

And we wonder why there aren't MORE outbreaks like this one.

Sure, it could have been fertilizer on the scallions....

...but with as many diseases around nowadays, and less emphasis on personal responsibility.....I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner.

And another thing.....I've always been told to be careful in 3rd world countries, where something like this is more common.....

...but this is America, and it shouldn't have happened!

Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I get some bit of security with Wendy's and now, McDonalds, using plastic gloves to make the meals.

That's a start, but not every restaurant even does that.

Some cities have health inspections now, and publicly write it up in the local paper what was discovered at your favorite eatery, and rate them accordingly.

They actually list how many cockroaches, rats or how much mold is found.

[nina0113]

No way it was fertilizer on the onions. If it was, why weren't any contaminated onions delivered to any other restaurant or grocery anywhere? Why only Chi-Chi's?

Chi-Chi's has to be the source of the infection. Like you said, there's always some guy who doesn't think handwashing means HIM.

[Indie]

Actually Guenevere, I posted something like this (only perhaps a little stronger...LOL) on another thread about this outbreak.
You are absolutely right!! Do we really think the...ahem...low lifes who work at some of these places really care whether or not they touch your food after using the toilet???!!
I myself once worked as a waiter at a Brinker restaurant and I can assure you, I was the only guy who always washed my hands after picking up tables before I went back to serve. Always. And the girls usually did it. The other guys...never.
And this was at a restaurant! Just think of the caliber of person who answers the drive-up window at your neighborhood fast food joint.
In Texas, gloves on hands are never seen, except in employee cafaterias because they aren't required by law. Next time you see that snot nozed tatood and pierced scumbag at your local fast food dispenser or restaurant, ask yourself..why would I let this person touch my food?
I say it was filthy employees not giving a hoot. "Green onions." Been eating them raw all my life. Why now? It's PC bravo sierra to keep from "offending" people just like you said.
Great post! Cheers.

[RadioAstronomer]

And for this very reason, I got both my Hepatitis A & B vaccines