Hepatitis A outbreak in Anchorage, Alaska, traced to ice slush beverages.
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services investigated a community outbreak of hepatitis A in Anchorage. A total of 57 persons who had hepatitis A between June and September 1988 were studied. Patients ranged from 1 to 54 years of age. A market was implicated as the source of the outbreak. An employee who prepared beverage mixtures in a bathroom was a contact of a person who had had hepatitis A 2 months before the outbreak; the employee was reported to have been jaundiced 3 to 4 weeks before the peak of the outbreak. The administration of immune globulin had an efficacy of 100% (95% confidence limits 69, 100%) in preventing hepatitis A among household contacts of primary cases. Similar beverages are sold by convenience markets and many other businesses nationwide. It is important to ensure that safe food-handling practices are followed by such establishments.
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Division of Field Epidemiology, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000413:Alaska / Q000453:epidemiology; D001628:Beverages; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006507:Hepatovirus; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous