An outbreak of hepatitis A has been linked to frozen berries imported from overseas according to a health warning issued by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
Ten cases of hepatitis A have recently been confirmed in Ireland, and five of these have been attributed to eating imported frozen berries according to studies conducted by the FSAI, the National Virus Reference Laboratory, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre and the Health Service Executive.
In Italy a similar outbreak of hepatitis A has been linked to frozen berries – particularly berry mixes which contain blueberries, raspberries, redcurrants, blackberries and strawberries – and advice from the FSAI is that all frozen berries should be boiled for at least one minute to destroy the virus if it is present.
The current outbreak of hepatitis A linked to frozen berries comes less than a year after 11,000 German students were contaminated with the virus after eating frozen strawberries across a number of German schools, and health chiefs are taking the threat of the virus spreading in Ireland very seriously.
A further outbreak of hepatitis A in Scandinavia was recorded earlier this year, and although a different strain of the virus was identified, the common denominator among the 16 victims was that they had recently eaten imported frozen berries. A similar case is under investigation in the United States where 117 people have been diagnosed with hepatitis A across nine different states.
The Symptoms of Hepatitis A
The symptoms of hepatitis A usually appear 2-6 weeks after exposure to the virus. Typically they will include a loss of appetite, nausea, fever, abdominal pain and jaundice, and – because the virus attacks the liver – doctors warn against taking alcohol or foods that the liver will find difficult to break down while a victim is suffering from hepatitis A.
If you are suffering any of these symptoms, you should seek a medical examination and a blood test from your GP. The symptoms may only last one to two weeks, but they have been known to persist for months – especially in the elderly and in those with compromised immune defences. Once the virus has taken hold, there is no cure. Victims will have to take pain relief and eat and drink “sensibly” until the virus has left their system.
Thereafter, you should speak with a solicitor with regard to claiming compensation for the outbreak of hepatitis A linked to frozen berries. It may be possible to recover compensation for your pain and suffering, loss of amenity and loss of income from the supplier of the contaminated berries – whether it is a shop, supermarket or from a retailer that has sold you a product made with the contaminated berries.
Update September 2014:
The FSAI has re-issued its advice to boil frozen berries due to a hepatitis A threat after the number of confirmed cases of hepatitis A linked to frozen berries in Ireland suddenly increased to twenty-one.