Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 79° Today's Paper


Top News

Six new hepatitis A cases reported this week

Rosemarie Bernardo

The state Department of Health’s tally of hepatitis A cases rose to 288 after six new cases were reported this week.

The onset of illness for the new case ranges between June 12 and Sept. 28.

Deputy State Epidemiologist Dr. Melissa Viray said health officials remain vigilant, despite tracing the outbreak to tainted scallops and blocking further distribution. “We’re not done yet. We want to keep things under control,” she said.

The department still encourages getting vaccinated to protect against the infectious virus, and Viray said individuals who already got their first shot of the hepatitis A vaccine should ensure they get the second shot in six months.

Viray said so far there have been only a few cases involving household members or close contacts, but the department will continue to monitor for those secondary cases.

In August, the health department determined the source of the outbreak as contaminated scallops imported from the Philippines and served raw at Genki Sushi restaurants on Oahu and Kauai. The department ordered affected Genki restaurants on both islands to shut down. They were cleared to reopen three weeks later after each restaurant had been thoroughly sanitized and all employees had been medically screened and cleared.

4 responses to “Six new hepatitis A cases reported this week”

  1. cholo says:

    well we should start seeing the end of tainted scallop-related hepatitis a cases within a week. the incubation period is ending from the day genki shut down and the tainted scallops pulled from the market. newer cases can be assumed to be secondary cases unless …. there is something else out there causing this outbreak.

  2. ukuleleblue says:

    Are these latest cases people who ate the tainted scallops or were in very close contact with people who did? Have there been any cases of anyone getting infected from a secondary source like a contaminated restroom or door handle in a public place? What is the true risk of getting hepatitis A just from going about everyday business in public places?

    • localguy says:

      uku – Same copy and paste post you have done over and over.

      If you have questions do your own research and learn. You do know how to Google right?

Leave a Reply