Not only do smoothies make you fat — they could give you hep A!
An outbreak of hepatits A has infected more than 50 people in six states. Health authorities confirmed 44 infections in Virginia, where frozen strawberries imported from Egypt were served at Tropical Smoothie Cafes. The Cafe has about 500 locations in 40 states.
Nearly half of those sickened in Virginia needed hospitalization. Infections have also been confirmed in Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Oregon and Wisconsin.
Hepatitis A is a viral liver infection that is highly contagious but doesn’t lead to chronic infection. The hep A virus, which causes the infection, usually is spread when a person ingests even tiny amounts of contaminated fecal matter.
“Due to the relatively long incubation period for hepatitis A — 15 to 50 days — before people start experiencing symptoms, we expect to see more ill people reported in this outbreak,” CDC spokeswoman Nora Spencer-Loveall told CNN.
The telltale symptom is jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and eyes. Other signs of the disease include fever, stomach pain, fatigue, loss of appetite and nausea.
Source: www.nydailynews.com
An outbreak of hepatits A has infected more than 50 people in six states. Health authorities confirmed 44 infections in Virginia, where frozen strawberries imported from Egypt were served at Tropical Smoothie Cafes. The Cafe has about 500 locations in 40 states.
Nearly half of those sickened in Virginia needed hospitalization. Infections have also been confirmed in Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Oregon and Wisconsin.
Hepatitis A is a viral liver infection that is highly contagious but doesn’t lead to chronic infection. The hep A virus, which causes the infection, usually is spread when a person ingests even tiny amounts of contaminated fecal matter.
“Due to the relatively long incubation period for hepatitis A — 15 to 50 days — before people start experiencing symptoms, we expect to see more ill people reported in this outbreak,” CDC spokeswoman Nora Spencer-Loveall told CNN.
The telltale symptom is jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and eyes. Other signs of the disease include fever, stomach pain, fatigue, loss of appetite and nausea.
Source: www.nydailynews.com
