Hepatitis A outbreak associated with green onions at a restaurant--Monaca, Pennsylvania, 2003

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2003 Nov 28;52(47):1155-7.

Abstract

The Pennsylvania Department of Health and CDC are investigating an outbreak of hepatitis A outbreak among patrons of a restaurant (Restaurant A) in Monaca, Pennsylvania. As of November 20, approximately 555 persons with hepatitis A have been identified, including at least 13 Restaurant A food service workers and 75 residents of six other states who dined at Restaurant A. Three persons have died. Preliminary sequence analysis of a 340 nucleotide region of viral RNA obtained from three patrons who had hepatitis A indicated that all three virus sequences were identical. Preliminary analysis of a case-control study implicated green onions as the source of the outbreak.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Food Microbiology*
  • Foodborne Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Foodborne Diseases / etiology
  • Hepatitis A / epidemiology*
  • Hepatitis A / transmission*
  • Hepatitis A virus / isolation & purification
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Onions / virology*
  • Pennsylvania / epidemiology
  • Restaurants*