Hepatitis A outbreak...

[Guest guest]

I just read this and thought some of you might be interested,

specially those of you in the Pittsburgh area. I did not know that

hepatitis A was fatal.

Third death reported in hepatitis outbreak

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Another hepatitis patient died

Friday, bringing to three the number of deaths from a hepatitis A

outbreak linked to a Mexican restaurant in western Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, the restaurant chain said it was removing green onions

from the menu in all of its outlets.

The patient died around 4:15 a.m. Friday at UPMC Presbyterian

Hospital, the hospital said in a statement. No other information

about the latest victim was released.

More than 400 people have fallen ill from the outbreak, linked to a

Chi-Chi's restaurant in the Beaver Valley Mall, about 25 miles

northwest of Pittsburgh.

Jeff Cook, 38, died on November 7 of liver failure in a Pittsburgh

hospital. Dineen Wieczorek, 52, died in a Cleveland hospital

Wednesday night while awaiting a liver transplant, said her daughter,

Darleen Trunzo. Both Cook and Wieczorek had eaten at the restaurant

in October, according to their families.

One person diagnosed with hepatitis A remained in critical condition

Friday and three were in fair condition at Pittsburgh hospitals.

On Thursday, Louisville, Kentucky-based Chi-Chi's announced it was

removing green onions from all meals at its 100 restaurants as a

precaution, although state and federal health officials said they

have yet to pinpoint the cause of the outbreak.

Pennsylvania health officials continued to interview each victim for

clues about how the virus spread. Pennsylvania Health Department

spokesman Jay Pagni said some of the newer cases may have resulted

from people passing the virus to others who hadn't eaten at the

restaurant.

Chi-Chi's has agreed to keep the restaurant closed until January 2 --

two months after it voluntarily closed following initial reports of

the disease.

Chi-Chi's Chief Operating Officer Bill Zavertnik said in a statement

Thursday night that the restaurant chain was pulling green onions

from meals because they are " the prime suspect of recent hepatitis A

outbreaks in various other states. "

Contaminated green onions are suspected of being responsible for

recent outbreaks in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

" We have no definitive information that green onions were involved in

this outbreak. But out of an abundance of caution we have decided to

remove this ingredient from our menu, " Zavertnik said.

Infectious disease experts say finding the source of the outbreak can

be challenging because hepatitis A has a long incubation period,

meaning the virus could be spread to many places before it's

detected. Pennsylvania health officials didn't begin warning the

public until November 3.

The disease can be spread by an infected person who doesn't wash his

hands before handling food, eating utensils or even ice used in

drinks. It can also be spread on uncooked foods, like green onions.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is

investigating