Free Republic

The Camden County Department of Health instructed anyone who patronized Blackwood Clementon Road Starbucks on Nov. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 or 13 to get the vaccine out of an abundance of caution, according to NJ.com. The website said that the county is setting up a vaccination clinic on Friday. However, an investigation did not reveal any health violations at the store, which was temporarily closed until all of the employees had been vaccinated. Fox 29 reported that the county was made aware of the infection on Wednesday. Hepatitis A is caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV), which is...

As the lockdown continues across the world, pharmaceutical companies are accelerating their efforts to provide a vaccine to prevent the spread of the virus. Unfortunately, Moderna, the company which has gained prominence in news headlines for developing Mrna-1273 vaccine to fight the disease, uses cells of aborted babies. Although alternatives exist which could be considered morally acceptable, they are not getting as much coverage as Moderna’s vaccine work. Suspicions about the vaccine were raised after checking Moderna’s patents and in particular, the use of the Spike (S) protein. The idea behind using this Spike protein in a vaccine with messenger...

(Largo) Due to dwindling capacity for existing aborted fetal cell lines to self-replicate, scientists in China have developed a new aborted fetal cell line, WALVAX 2 that will be used for viral vaccine production. The existing cell lines, MRC-5 and WI-38 are currently used in MMR, Varicella, Hepatitis-A, Shingles, some rabies and some polio vaccines. WALVAX 2 is taken from the lung tissue of a 3 month gestation female who was ultimately selected from among 9 aborted babies. The scientists noted how they followed specific guidelines to mimic WI-38 and MRC-5 in selecting the aborted babies, ranging from 2-4 months...

With Hepatitis A cases skyrocketing across Florida, reported cases among food workers are also on a steep rise. That’s creating a real public health issue, as ingesting the virus through food or water is the easiest way to contract it. Yet the DOH chooses not to notify the public of some food worker cases, according to a spokesperson, as the agency weighs the risk to patrons against the risk of a public health scare. In the case of this grocery store employee last week, who was hospitalized after symptoms worsened over the course of several days, the DOH determined there...

Jennifer Millar keeps trash bags and hand sanitizer near her tent, and she regularly pours water mixed with hydrogen peroxide on the sidewalk nearby. Keeping herself and the patch of concrete she calls home clean is a top priority. But this homeless encampment off a Hollywood freeway ramp is often littered with needles and trash and soaked in urine. Rats occasionally scamper through, and Millar fears the consequences. Infectious diseases—some that ravaged populations in the Middle Ages—are resurging in California and around the country, and are hitting homeless populations especially hard. Los Angeles recently experienced an outbreak of typhus—a disease...

The case was reported on January 24... The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review is Walt Disney World’s longest-running dinner show. Nestled in Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, guests dine on an all-you-care-to-eat selection of fried chicken, smoked barbecue pork ribs, baked beans, tossed green salad, cornbread, and strawberry shortcake. This isn’t the first health scare to hit a Walt Disney World restaurant. Back in November, guests at Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs were exposed to Hepatitis A and were asked to get vaccinated as a precaution.

“Anyone who ate at Red Lobster in Fort Smith from July 19 to August 4 should seek vaccination immediately if they have never been vaccinated against hep A or are unsure of their vaccination status,” the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) wrote in a news release on Wednesday. “This case appears to be related to travel outside of the state and is not thought to be part of the current hep A outbreak in Northeast Arkansas.”

Officials are advising West Virginia residents to stay informed about the Hepatitis A epidemic. Health officials tell 13 News, that Kanawha County leads the state in confirmed Hep-A cases. Cabell County comes in a close second. On Thursday, the Cabell-Huntington Health Department hosted a town hall forum as part of their "Stop the Spread" Campaign set to begin this month. "These outbreaks tend to last one to two years, so its not going anywhere and we probably haven't even seen the worst of it," said the Bureau for Public Health's Shannon McBee. "We just want everyone to be extra aware...

Since late summer 2016, hepatitis A has had an increased presence across the United States. While San Diego’s hepatitis A outbreak caused headlines in 2017, the disease isn’t just contained to Southern California. So far in 2018, seven states reported cases of the food and water-borne disease. Among those states, Utah, Michigan and Kentucky reported the most cases. Hepatitis A is a virus that attacks the liver and causes jaundice. Once infected, the disease can cause nausea, vomiting, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain. It is extremely contagious and usually spread through unsanitary food and water. On rare...

SAN DIEGO – The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to end a state of emergency declaration over the hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego County amid a declining number of cases. There have been no new reported cases of the illness over the last four weeks and the number of deaths linked to the disease has remained at 20 since late October. Those are two signs that the county’s three-pronged approach — vaccinating people who are at risk of contracting the disease, educating the public about prevention and sanitizing streets — has worked, health officials told the board. “The outbreak...

Since the outbreak, San Diego's Health and Human Service Agency and local health administrators have given about 68,500 vaccinations, including nearly 54,000 to at-risk populations. Also Tuesday, the San Diego Board of Supervisors voted to extend the county's emergency health declaration over the outbreak, which will need to be reviewed and voted on every 14 days. Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced Tuesday more than 600 tons have trash has been cleared from San Diego streets, sidewalks, and riverbeds over the past six months as part of citywide cleanup efforts.

Hepatitis A, spread by fecal contamination, has killed 16 people and sickened 421 since November. An outbreak of hepatitis A, a dangerous but preventable disease that is spread through fecal contamination and attacks the liver, has gotten so out of hand in San Diego that the county government is handing out plastic poop bags and washing the streets with bleach. (Emphasis mine) The outbreak has killed 16 people and infected 421 since November, ravaging San Diego’s large homeless and illicit drug-using population. It could eventually cost the county health department up to a million dollars, a local health official estimated....

Hepatitis A Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus. Mild cases can last a few weeks while severe cases can last several months. Los Angeles County is experiencing an outbreak of hepatitis A. The majority of cases are occurring in individuals who are homeless and/or use illicit drugs. Outbreaks of hepatitis A in persons who are homeless and/or use illicit drugs are also occurring in San Diego and Santa Cruz counties.

Fourteen people have died from an outbreak of hepatitis A in San Diego, and experts believe it to be the deadliest outbreak of the disease in the US in decades, the Guardian has learned. In large part, the victims were homeless people who have had to contend with a lack of 24-hour public restrooms, even though hand-washing is one of the best defenses against infection. The number of cases has exceeded other large outbreaks, said a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) spokesperson, and is “likely the most deaths in an outbreak in the US in the past 20 years”. (...

Frozen strawberries imported from Egypt and used by Tropical Smoothie Café locations in Virginia are possibly linked to a cluster of Hepatitis A infections, spurring state health officials to issue a public health warning. The restaurant chain has already pulled the implicated strawberries from all of its restaurants, not just the 100 locations in Virginia, according to a company statement issued today. “Individuals who consumed a smoothie from a Tropical Smoothie Café in Virginia that contained frozen strawberries on Aug. 5, 6, 7 or 8 may still benefit from vaccine or immune globulin to prevent Hepatitis A,” the Virginia Department...

About 250 immigrant children were given an adult dose of a hepatitis A vaccine at a Texas detention facility where they were being held with their mothers, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. The vaccines were administered this week, but none of the children has been hospitalized or had any adverse reactions, ICE officials said Saturday. ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said health care professionals will monitor the children over the next five days for any potential side effects, though none are expected. "Parents at the facility were advised and counseled by medical professionals about potential side effects, with...

During last summer’s border crisis, left-wing and mainstream media outlets mocked Americans who were concerned that illegal immigrants may be carrying disease like Tuberculosis. But in a story downplaying the measles threat from Mexico and Central America, the Los Angeles Times concedes that, “beyond measles, however, there are some serious diseases that are brought to the United States from Mexico and Central America.” Tuberculosis is chief among those diseases, according to the Times, which noted that “in 2013, 65% of the tuberculosis cases in the U.S. occurred among foreign-born people”: A majority of those people came from five countries: Mexico...

Earlier today, I reported that Fargo’s new bishop, Bishop John T. Folda, had contracted Hepatitis A while attending the recent Bishops’ School in Rome, and had unknowingly exposed worshippers at four churches to the virus. It turns out that Bishop Folda isn’t the only new bishop to contract the virus. A statement released this evening from the Diocese of Tyler reports that their ordinary, Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, has also been diagnosed with Hepatitis A. Bishop Strickland

The North Dakota Department of Health has found that the Catholic bishop John Folda, exposed several parishioners to Hepatitis A in late September and early October through communion, which he administered after he unknowingly contracted the virus from contaminated food he consumed at a conference held for the newly ordained bishops in Italy last month. The notification for the possible Hepatitis A virus exposure was issued to churchgoers who attended mass on September 27 at the Holy Spirit Church in Fargo, N.D.; September 29-October 2, 2013 at St. James Basilica in Jamestown, N.D.; October 6, 2013 at Cathedral of St....

VICTORIAN health authorities have renewed their warnings over links between semi-dried tomatoes and an outbreak of hepatitis A ... "Because the incubation period for hepatitis A could be as long as two months, trying to get people who fell ill to accurately pin down what and where they actually ate this product can be difficult," Dr Carnie said. Bottled semi-dried tomatoes in supermarkets were pasteurised and considered safe along with any of the cooked product such as in pizzas or quiches. The greatest risk would appear to be at restaurants and cafes, where semi-dried tomatoes are served in foods such...