The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday said it ordered an investigation into two brands of organic strawberries that are thought to be linked to 17 cases of hepatitis A in three states.
The FDA warned consumers in a news release not to eat, serve, or sell brands of FreshKampo or H-E-B- organic strawberries. The products are sold this year between Mar. 5 and Apr. 25 as the agency said that while the shelf life of strawberries has ended, they were concerned that some consumers may have frozen them to eat at a later date.
Hepatitis A Outbreak
Out of the 17 known hepatitis A cases, 15 were found in California, and one each was discovered in Minnesota and North Dakota, said the FDA. Authorities said that a dozen people have already been hospitalized for the illness and noted that the last case was recorded on Apr. 30.
The agency added that no deaths were reported associated with the hepatitis A cases linked to the strawberries. The products were sold at Aldi, H-E-B-, Kroger, Safeway, Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe's, Walmart, Weis Markets, WinCo Foods, and other outlets, as per Fox13 Memphis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is also looking into the situation of the outbreak along with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The FDA added that if consumers were unsure about what brand of strawberries they purchased when they bought them or where they got them, they should just be thrown away.
The CDC noted that Hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable liver infection and is a contagious illness whose symptoms include fatigue, nausea, stomach pain, and jaundice and can last up to two months. The FDA said that in rare cases, the illness could result in liver failure and death.
According to USA Today, authorities from the FDA recommended that if any person ate strawberries in the last two weeks and was not vaccinated against hepatitis A, they should immediately consult with their health care professional to get checked up.
Mysterious Cases Worldwide
The situation comes as another, more mysterious outbreak of hepatitis has already been discovered in 650 young children worldwide. The World Health Organization reported on Friday that the sudden and unexplained outbreak was found in 33 countries, and 36 new cases were reported over the last international update roughly a week ago.
Last week, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported a total of 614 cases under investigation in 30 countries. Authorities said that about a third of the cases, 222, were found in the UK, and another 216 were reported in the U.S.
Many of the children in the international investigation were found to have been initially sick in March and April. Prior to the outbreak, about half of cases of sudden hepatitis in young children could not be tied to a known cause.
However, the global health organization said that the cases being investigated now seem to be different from anything that health professionals have seen before. The illness comes quickly and appears to be more clinically severe, with a higher proportion of children developing liver failure, CNN reported.