Cause of the Hepatitis A outbreak in Pennsylvania according to the PA health dept.

KDKA Radio 1020, Pittsburgh | 11/21/03

[Dane]

According to a press conference by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Health, the cause of the Hepatitis A outbreak, that has so far infected 575 people and caused 3 deaths, came from green onions.

All those infected ate at a Chi-Chi's restaurant at the Beaver Valley Mall located in Center Township, PA.

[Dane]

Chi-Chi workers were ruled out due to the timing of their symptoms.

[Dane]

ping.

[Dane]

The health dept. has no idea if the green onions came from Mexico, says the Dept. of Agricuture is still tracking where the green onions came from.

[Dane]

Does not beleive that other restaurants are implicated. he said that every case can be traced back to the Chi-Chi's at the Beaver Valley mall.

[flamefront]

Whose onions? South of the border? Are there more? How big a problem is this? Is anybody doing anything to stop it or even to analyze it? The CDC is hoplessly underfunded, can they keep up with this? Why has it taken so long to get to the cause? Is this definitive?

[flamefront]

Thanks greatly for your reporting.

[flamefront]

ping

[Petronski]

[beaversmom]

I've got a can of refried beans in the cupboard that are a product of Mexico. Wonder if it's safe to eat? I'm assuming so because they cooked. Anyway, I think I'm going to lay off going to Mexican restaurants for a while. It's going to be hard because I love tamales.

[Constitution Day]

I hope no one is going after Booker T. and the MG's.

[Dane]

Thanks greatly for your reporting

You're welcome. A side anecdote. The spokesman gave a 2 minute psuedo-Oscar like speech before actually getting to the news. It was irritating.

KDKA just dropped the news conference.

[Sabertooth]

US Bars Mexican Onions Due to Hepatitis a Outbreak
			Posted by JustPiper On 11/19/2003 2:20 PM PST with 55 comments Reuters ^ | 11-19-03 | N/A WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has halted imports of Mexican green onions suspected of causing an outbreak of hepatitis A that has sickened more than 500 people in Pennsylvania, a Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) official told Reuters on Wednesday. FDA Deputy Commissioner Lester Crawford said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Friday will release an update on the outbreak, including the food source that has caused at least three deaths and where it originated. Health officials believe Mexican green onions served at a Chi-Chi's restaurant were the source of the Pennsylvania outbreak. Recent cases...
In fight against outbreaks, green onions present layered resistance
			Posted by lelio On 11/15/2003 7:44 AM PST with 40 comments Penn Live ^ | 11/14/2003 | DAN LEWERENZ HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — While investigators work to pinpoint the cause of a western Pennsylvania hepatitis A outbreak that has killed three people and sickened more than 490, some food safety experts say green onions are particularly hard to keep clean. Luke LaBorde, assistant professor of food science at Penn State University, said Friday that the way green onions are grown and eaten, even the structure of the onion itself, can make them particularly likely to transmit diseases like hepatitis A.A study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that green onions were more likely to be contaminated with...

[William McKinley]

Whose onions?

The source of the onions has yet to be tracked. They are working on it. It appears to have been only a batch sent to this particular Chi-Chi's, though, as no cases have come in this outbreak that cannot be traced back to this restaurant.

South of the border? Are there more?

Unknown. Unknown.

How big a problem is this?

A pretty big one for southwestern Pennsylvania.

Is anybody doing anything to stop it or even to analyze it?

Yes, and yes, and have been doing so for some time now already.

The CDC is hoplessly underfunded, can they keep up with this?

Is it underfunded? Yes, they can keep up with it. While it is a fairly substantial outbreak, it doesn't appear to be out of control.

Why has it taken so long to get to the cause?

Because it takes time to interview hundreds of sick people and to rule in or out various possibilities.

Is this definitive?

Yes, which is why it took so long.

[Constitution Day]

[Petronski]

Whose onions? South of the border? Are there more? How big a problem is this? Is anybody doing anything to stop it or even to analyze it? The CDC is hoplessly underfunded, can they keep up with this? Why has it taken so long to get to the cause? Is this definitive?

They don't know whose onions, though the speculation is that they are Mexican. Until they know whose they are, they won't know if there are more. It's a big problem right now, largest restaurant hepatitis-a outbreak I think someone said, but it seems to be over. PA Dept of Health is on top of it. It's not definitive yet, and it's difficult to trace because there doesn't seem to be tight inventory tracking in the produce business.

Whew, let me catch my breath. ;O)

[mrsmith]

Surely Chi-Chi has to know where they get their onions.
Even if they mix up suppliers, DNA or other tests should be able to determine where these came from.

FDA Warning: For External Use Only

[flamefront]

LOL

[Rockitz]

What a ludicrous statement. Green onions by themselves are not a health hazzard. I'll bet my whole stack of match sticks that the green onions were fertilized with human waste, probably in Mexico, and then not cleaned appropriately at Chi-Chi's.

[Paradox]

Montezeuma's latest revenge...

[William McKinley]

I just made some homemade Chicken Enchiladas last weekend- complete with a bunch of green onions.

I am not pleased.