According to one of the leading Hepatis A lawyers in the nation, strawberries (and especially imported frozen strawberries) have been the source of a number of recent Hepatitis A outbreaks. Hepatitis A, for which MOST Americans have been vaccinated, still causes outbreaks in the U.S. as the very young, elderly, and many immigrants remain susceptible. Onset is delayed in most people for 15 days to 50 days, allowing time for people who are exposed to get vaccinated during the first two weeks after exposure.
In the current outbreak, at least 10 people have been confirmed ill with Hepatitis A from organic strawberries in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington states. Each of the victims became sick between November 24, 2022, to May 27, 2023.
According to the CDC, people with an acute Hepatitis A infection often suffer:
- Yellow skin or eyes
- Not wanting to eat
- Upset stomach
- Stomach pain
- Throwing up
- Fever
- Dark urine or light-colored stools
- Joint pain
- Diarrhea
- Feeling tired
Earlier in 2022, the Hepatitis strawberry outbreak was linked to HEB organic strawberries and FreshKampo strawberries. which had been imported from Baja California, in northern Mexico. That strain was the same as the current strain, indicating an ongoing problem in Baja California amongst strawberry growers. In 2016, frozen strawberries from Egypt were used at Tropical Smoothie Cafe, leading to a Hepatitis A outbreak.
