© stock.adobe.com/au/Maksim Shebeko
Hepatitis A
Janette Woodhouse
and the foodservice industry Hepatitis A is the only common vaccine-preventable foodborne disease. Should food service workers be vaccinated to minimise the risks of them contaminating the foods they handle?
epatitis A is a viral infec-
selling them in Lower Saxony, sickening 83.
sibly a redness on the injection site or a mild
tion affecting the liver
• 10 cases of epidemiologically linked
fever. The Australian Immunisation Handbook
that spreads through the
hepatitis A involved a food handler at
(NHMRC 2008) recommends hepatitis A vac-
faecal-oral route. While the
a ready-to-eat foods cafe in Melbourne.
cinations for:
virus is endemic in the
Bill Marler, managing partner of Marler
third world, the hygiene
Clark, a Seattle, Washington, based law firm
and sanitation practices in the developed
that specialises in foodborne illness cases, is
• all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
world mean that most people in Australia
advocating that foodservice workers should
children between 18 months and six years
and New Zealand reach adulthood without
be vaccinated against hepatitis A.
having been exposed to the virus.
Being resistant to heating and freezing, the
• travellers to endemic areas, which means developing countries;
of age in north Queensland; • workers in rural and remote Indigenous
According to the Hepatitis Australia web-
hepatitis A virus can survive for several hours
site: “Infection resulting from contaminated
outside the body and persists on the hands
• child day-care and pre-school personnel;
food or water, or an infected food handler
and in food for even longer. Compounding this
• the intellectually disabled and their carers;
is rare in Australia.” However, infection via
is the problem that those with the disease
• healthcare workers employed in paediatric
this route is certainly not unknown. Only last
are infectious for about two weeks before
wards, intensive care units and emergency
year, berries sourced from China and Chile
they develop any symptoms. So they can
departments that provide for substantial
and repackaged at Patties Foods’ Victorian
be handling food and spreading the disease
populations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
facility were implicated for causing a hepatitis
before they are aware that they are infected.
Islander children and nursing and medi-
A outbreak and in New Zealand Fruzio Mixed
In fact it takes 15–50 days for symptoms of
cal staff on rural and remote Indigenous
Berries were recalled due to hepatitis A con-
hepatitis A to show after infection (average
communities;
tamination. Now, in the US, frozen strawber-
time 28–30 days).
communities;
• sewage workers;
ries from Egypt have sickened at least 140.
The world is no longer a large place.
And it is not only frozen berries that have
More and more foods are shipped around
• injecting drug users;
the globe, many from developing countries,
• patients with chronic liver disease of any
been the source of hepatitis A outbreaks.
• men who have sex with men;
• Five died, one required a liver transplant
and people are also travelling internationally
and 500 were sickened by green onions
to an extent never before seen. It is easy to
imported from Mexico in 2003.
pick up hepatitis A when travelling to less
pooled plasma concentrates.
developed countries, come home, go back to
As many prepared meal manufacturers’
• 165 were sickened by frozen pomegranates
aetiology; and • patients with haemophilia who may receive
work in the food industry and contaminate
clients are among the most vulnerable in
• Epidemiological and laboratory findings
a lot of food before you develop symptoms.
society already, I’m inclined to agree with Bill
suggest a sweet pastry salesperson
Vaccination for hepatitis A is two injections
contaminated products while packing and
and there are very few side effects — pos-
from Turkey.
36 | PREPARED FOOD - February 2017
Marler — vaccination should be the go.
www.preparedfood.com.au