Perhaps the answer to that question is yes. Hepatitis A is one of five human hepatitis viruses (hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E) that primarily infect the liver and cause illness. An estimated 80,000 cases occur each year in the U.S., although much higher estimates have been proposed based on mathematical modeling of the past incidence of infection. Each year, an estimated 100 persons die as a result of acute liver failure in the U.S. due to hepatitis A, but the rate of infection has dramatically decreased since the hepatitis A vaccine was licensed and became available in the U.S. in 1995.
Hepatitis A is a communicable (or contagious) disease that spreads from person-to-person. It is spread almost exclusively through fecal-oral contact, generally from person-to-person, or via contaminated food or water. Food contaminated with the virus is the most common vehicle transmitting hepatitis A. The food preparer or cook is the individual most often contaminating the food, although he or she is generally not ill at the time of food preparation. The peak time of infectivity, when the most viruses are present in the stool of an infectious individual, is during the two weeks before illness begins.
Although only a small percentage of hepatitis A infections are associated with foodborne transmission, foodborne outbreaks have been increasingly implicated as a significant source of hepatitis A infection. Some of the Hepatitis A Exposures and Outbreaks in which the Marler Clark law firm has represented clients include:
- Carl’s Jr. Hepatitis A Outbreak – Washington
- Chi-Chi’s Hepatitis A Outbreak – Pennsylvania
- Chipotle Grill Hepatitis A – San Diego, California
- D’Angelo’s Deli Hepatitis A Outbreak – Massachusetts
- Friendly’s Hepatitis A Exposure – Massachusetts
- Houlihan’s Hepatitis A Exposure – Illinois
- Maple Lawn Dairy Hepatitis A Outbreak – New York
- McDonald’s Hepatitis A Outbreak – Washington
- McDonald’s Hepatitis A Outbreak – Quad-Cities, Illinois
- Olive Garden Hepatitis A Exposure – Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Quizno’s Hepatitis A Exposure – Massachusetts
- Soleil Produce Hepatitis A Outbreak – California
- Subway Hepatitis A Outbreak – Washington
- Taco Bell Hepatitis A Outbreak – Florida