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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
The Department of Health on Thursday showed a box of the Sea Port Bay Scallops that tested positive for the hepatitis A virus. The number of people who have contracted hepatitis A in Hawaii has climbed to 228.
The number of people who have contracted hepatitis A in Hawaii has climbed to 228, a nearly 11 percent increase over the last week, health officials announced today.
All the victims are adults, and 58 were so ill they required hospitalization. Three were visitors who returned to the mainland.
The state Health Department has traced the outbreak to contaminated scallops that were imported frozen from the Philippines and served raw at Genki Sushi restaurants on Oahu and Kauai. All Genki Sushi outlets on the two islands were shut down last week and the scallops were recalled by their importer, Sea Port Products Corp., of Kirkland, Wash.
Because the virus has a long incubation period, cases will continue to crop up long after the product was removed from circulation.
The state Department of Education said a cafeteria worker at Kipapa Elementary School told her principal on Monday of a positive test for the virus.
The school closed the cafeteria and is testing all of its workers. Lunches are being prepared at another school.
On Tuesday, the Health Department confirmed that a second Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant had contracted the disease, but said the source was not the airline and the risk to passengers was “extremely low.”
“This case is a reminder that hepatitis A symptoms can appear up to 50 days after exposure,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said Tuesday. “This is why we expect to continue to see cases in coming weeks, and why we need to remain vigilant to prevent further transmission, even though the product has been pulled off the market.”
The Health Department announces the number of cases every Wednesday. The pace of the outbreak is slowing. The total of 206 cases announced on Aug. 17 was a 22.6 percent increase over the previous week’s tally.
Symptoms of hepatitis A include fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, fever, dark urine, pale stool and jaundice. Anyone with symptoms should contact their doctor.
Vaccination is the best prevention against the liver disease. Vigorous hand washing after using the toilet and before eating can stem the spread of the infection. Thoroughly cooking food kills the virus.
Another 10% increase means this potential epidemic is not yet under control.
Could mean we turned the corner. The field of journalism only gives the last two trailing data points, so no can tell. For Hep A this report states 22.6% increase one week, “nearly 11%” increase the following week. Same with traffic fatalities at any given point in a year, SAT/ACT scores, real estate, and tourism data.
The epidemic has already started. Time to get vaccinated. Expect the number of cases to escalate.
DOH is reacting rather than being proactive. Those who become sick on the mainland and other countries will begin to show up.
Many have been exposed and will be unknowingly spreading it to others for sure.
sorry, data proves your wrong. Increase is less than it has been in the past. this is winding down.
The question is did all of infected person contract the virus from eating the tainted scallops at Genki or from direct physical contact with a person who did? Or inadvertently got infected eating take out Genki food unknowingly at an outside get together? Has anyone been confirmed not have gotten the disease from another source. How does the public know that there really is a great risk to get it from a rest room or a door handle? Anyone who ate at Genki should also get tested as opposed to just getting the vaccine and waiting for symptoms. They may already be infecting others unknowingly. Does the public have to just wait until there are no more infectable people (vaccinated) for the disease to die down? Meanwhile nobody has the knowledge to protect themselves and may be at risk for needing a liver transplant if they have a weak immune system.
uku – Low quality rail posts, same here. Sad.
People have access to the experts and information on the Hepatitis A virus, the CDC. http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hav/afaq.htm
Follow their guidance for the best protection. People would do well to be vaccinated against Hepatitis and Pneumonia and stay up to date with them.
As HAV has so many ways to transmitted outside the body there may not be one smoking gun. “HAV can survive outside the body for months. HAV can survive certain acids and some heat. For a period of time and under certain conditions, HAV can survive in sea water, dried feces and live oysters.”
As the incubation period can be up to two months, it may not be until 2017 the outbreak can be declared over.
Amazing that none of the workers contracted Hepatitis A. Maybe it’s a sign. None of them eat the scallops. I think I’ll do the same.
Lawyers will have BIG pay days ahead……ca-Ching big time!
Hard for me to blame Genki Sushi for this mess, even if my wife, son, & I had to get Hep-A shots. It’s not as if they haven’t been serving the same scallops for many years – one of my favorites, by the way. Didn’t eat them when we were there 2 weeks ago, but that was just a fluke, & because the same tools & hands prepared all the other sushi & sashimi dishes, it would be stupid to ignore the possibility of infection. Same for the exporter, although it should be much more proactive in running tests to detect things like Hep-A, although I can’t figure out how the Hep-A was passed to scallops…check out http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/did-hepatitis-a-originate-in-humans-probably-not-say-scientists/81251934/ which states that it started from small mammals, &, more interestingly: “Infections with hepatitis A virus can often trigger acute inflammation of the liver, which interestingly does not typically cause any symptoms in children and resolves without major complications. In tropical regions, nearly all young children are infected with the hepatitis A virus and from that time on, they are immune to this disease.”
The REAl question is how to prevent future problems like this! Do we simply not buy from other countries, or eat at places that do? The world is just too cross-connected to be able to track every single thing we eat or drink! My refrigerator has foods, drinks, & spices from 11 countries right now, & that’s pretty typical. I guess we can all get innoculated for just about every disease, & then eat what we used to….
I predict big sale at the Genki re-opening to get people back in followed by bankruptcy and closure within a year after all the lawsuits. Too bad.
The public should show aloha to Genki Sushi by continuing to patronize its restaurants. It wasn’t their fault the scallops were tainted. It could have happened to anyone.