Hepatitis A in a Café in Virginia

News about Hepatitis A has been confirmed with a café in Virginia. The establishment is called Tropical Smoothie Café (in Purcellville, Virginia), and one of the employees was diagnosed with the virus. Later, more than thirty other cases emerged.

Virginia Department of Health confirmed 35 cases of hepatitis A, which can be related to the  Tropical Smoothie Café. It all started with one of their employees, who is supposed to have been infected with the virus one month ago, in July. The diagnosis was confirmed only later.

Specialists believe the virus is related to the strawberries smoothies served at the café. The fruits were frozen and originated from Egypt. Authorities advise costumers who went at Tropical Smoothie Café between August 12 and 18 to get some analyses done and even get the vaccine, in order to make sure they are out of danger.

Officials at the café declared that they cleaned the restaurant. They also checked their strawberries supplies and will not use them anymore. All products containing the frozen fruits originating from Egypt will no longer be served to customers.

Hepatitis A is a disease which affects the patients’ liver, produced by hepatitis A virus (HAV). It is often transmitted through food and beverage we consume, or from an infected person to a healthy one. With young patients, symptoms might not manifest. However, among the common symptoms are nausea, fever, and pale yellowish shade of the skin. They can manifest two weeks to six weeks after the infection with the virus.Although old patients do have the symptoms, there is also a greater risk of a severe form of the disease with them rather than with children.

The good news with hepatitis A is that people recover entirely after vaccination and treatment, and live normal lives. There are other types of hepatitis (B, C), but hepatitis A is not as severe as the others. Sometimes, hospitalization is not required.

Doctors have a few recommendations that can help us prevent the risk of the disease. There are simple things that people can do, like always washing the fruits before eating them, always washing their hands, properly prepare their food and beverages, avoiding raw aliments. And, of course, there is the vaccine which helps you fight against the virus even before exposure.

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