Hepatitis Outbreak Tops 300 Cases

[dArKeR]

The number of people sickened by a hepatitis A outbreak at a Mexican restaurant continued to climb Tuesday, with Pennsylvania health officials confirming at least 300 cases.

Investigators hoped to pinpoint the source of the outbreak in the next week or so. Of the cases linked to a Chi-Chi's Restaurant about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, 31 were in Ohio, eight in West Virginia, one in Florida, and one in South Carolina.

One death has been attributed to the outbreak.

Unlike the more serious variants, hepatitis B and C, which are generally spread by intravenous drug use or risky sexual behaviors, hepatitis A is spread by eating something contaminated with the feces of someone with hepatitis A, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Food-borne outbreaks generally involve fresh vegetables or other uncooked foods handled by a contaminated person, but the disease is relatively rare.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/08/health/main582558.shtml