viernes, 20 de septiembre de 2019

ProMED-mail

ProMED-mail

ProMED logo

« prev

ProMED logo

Published Date: 2019-09-19 22:12:48
Subject: PRO/EDR> Hepatitis A - South Korea, Australia: clam
Archive Number: 20190919.6684089
HEPATITIS A - SOUTH KOREA, AUSTRALIA: CLAM
******************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

In this posting:
[1] South Korea
[2] Australia (New South Wales)

******
[1] South Korea
Date: Thu 12 Sep 2019
Source: Korea Biomedical Review [abridged, edited]
http://www.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=6431


The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said it has confirmed that contaminated fermented shellfish was the main culprit behind the hepatitis A outbreak this summer. The KCDC came to the conclusions after conducting an in-depth epidemiological investigation.

The agency randomly sampled 270 of the 2178 hepatitis A patients, diagnosed between 28 Jul and 24 Aug 2019, and surveyed whether they consumed fermented shellfish this summer. It found that 42% of the patients had eaten fermented shellfish during the incubation period. KCDC also found that 80.7% of the 26 patients diagnosed with hepatitis A in August 2019 also ate fermented shellfish, while discovering hepatitis A virus genes in 11 batches out of the 18 batches collected after the outbreak. Notably, 5 of these genes found in the research showed close relations with the virus detected in hepatitis A patients.

The agency recommended that the public should stop consuming salted clams until it can confirm that they are safe to eat. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety also plans to conduct a full survey of fermented shellfish distribution products this month [September 2019]. As of now, the disease control agency has confirmed 10 products that have tested positive for the hepatitis A virus; 9 of them were imported from China, and one was made in Korea. The KFDC asked the producers of sauced clams to halt the distribution and sale of their products for the time being and to conduct the hepatitis A virus test for each product when importing fermented shellfish.

[Byline: Lee Han-soo]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Kunihiko Iizuka

******
[2] Australia (New South Wales)
Date: Thu 19 Sep 2019
Source: Food Safety News [edited]
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2019/09/hepatitis-a-outbreak-linked-to-imported-clams/


The New South Wales (NSW) Food Authority advised consumers who bought salted or pickled clams from Koryo Food Co. or Byul Mi Kim Chi to destroy any remaining product or return it to the place of purchase for a refund. Koryo Food Co. and Byul Mi Kim Chi recalled the items because of the potential link with hepatitis A from the salted or pickled clams imported from South Korea.

Authorities in South Korea recently warned domestic consumers to avoid certain types of salted or pickled clams due to a link with hepatitis A infection. Australian-grown clams are not implicated in the outbreak. South Korea, where hepatitis A is usually rare, is experiencing a large outbreak with more than 11 000 cases reported [in 2019].

Lisa Szabo, NSW Food Authority CEO, said testing was underway on a number of products, but results may take several weeks. "Although a contamination has not yet been confirmed, we have advised the companies of a potential link to 8 cases of hepatitis A in NSW, and they have both undertaken a recall of the product," she said. "We want to ensure all consumers who may have these products are aware of the possible link between the product and hepatitis A. While the affected products have been recalled from participating retailers, consumers may still have product they have already purchased in their fridges."

Koryo Food Co. is recalling pickled clams sold at independent Korean and Asian Grocery Stores in New South Wales. The 180-gram pack has "use by" dates of 19 Nov and 28 Nov 2019. Byul Mi Kim Chi salted clams come in a 150-gram plastic container and were sold at Korean Grocery Shops in New South Wales with a "best before" date ranging from 31 Oct to 31 Dec 2019.

[In August 2019], the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Health Directorate and NSW Health revealed they were investigating a cluster of hepatitis A infections in the South Korean community. Eight adults of South Korean heritage have been affected since June [2019]. Most did not have recent overseas travel and lived in southeastern Sydney, northern Sydney, and western Sydney. The ACT Health Directorate reminded anyone traveling to South Korea of the importance of vaccination prior to travel and good hand hygiene to reduce the risk of spread.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Outbreaks of hepatitis A in the developed world are generally, like these, related to a contaminated food. The huge epidemic of hepatitis A ongoing in many states of the USA is, however, paralleling the developing world with cases related to appalling sanitation and living conditions. - Mod.LL

HealthMap/ProMED-mail maps:
South Korea: http://healthmap.org/promed/p/195
New South Wales, Australia: http://healthmap.org/promed/p/284]

See Also

Hepatitis A - Australia: (AC,NS) Korean community 20190821.6633760
Hepatitis A - Sweden: Iranian dates 20190429.6446348
2018
----
Hepatitis A - Europe (02): Austria, Sweden, Polish frozen strawberries 20181017.6096090
Hepatitis A - Spain (02): (VA) restaurant 20181016.6094845
Hepatitis A - Europe: Sweden, Polish frozen strawberries 20180710.5898179
Hepatitis A - Europe: ex Morocco 20180706.5890111
Hepatitis A - Canada: frozen strawberries 20180416.5749123
Hepatitis A - Australia (04): frozen pomegranate 20180413.5745947
Hepatitis A - Australia (03): (NS) frozen pomegranate 20180407.5732162
Hepatitis A - Denmark: dates, alert, recall 20180210.5620267
Hepatitis A - Spain: (PM) restaurant 20180127.5585266
Hepatitis A - EU: MSM, ECDC report 20180109.5545180
.................................................sb/ll/tw/lxl

ProMED logo
Publicado por en

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario

Suscribirse a: Enviar comentarios (Atom)