Strawberries Recalled in Connection with Hepatitis A Outbreak in the US and Canada

Strawberries are being recalled in North America, with investigators looking into whether the fruit is the cause of more than two dozen confirmed Hepatitis A cases in Canada and the United States.

According to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) news release, the batches identified by authorities are past their shelf life. They were distributed between March 5 and April 25, with authorities expressing concern for anyone who may have frozen the expired berries.

According to the release, the traceback investigations show that cases in Minnesota, California, and Canada report purchasing fresh organic strawberries branded as FreshKampo or HEB before becoming ill.

27 Hepatitis A cases recorded in latest outbreak in the U.S. and Canada

The United States has seen 17 cases of Hepatitis A, a dozen of which required hospitalization, and Canadian authorities confirmed at least 10 cases by Friday, May 27. Fifteen of the cases in the U.S. were recorded in California. A public health notice released in Canada said that the country's cases were found in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Possible infected batches were sold at popular grocery chains - Walmart, Weis Markets, WinCo Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe's, Aldi, H-E-B, Kroger, and Safeway, according to a report by NBC News.

If someone is unsure where they bought their strawberries and the brand, the FDA recommends throwing these products away immediately.

According to the Mayo Clinic, an academic medical center, Hepatitis A is a virus-born liver infection that causes inflammation and may impair liver function. It is most commonly spread by ingesting water or food that has been contaminated with fecal matter. An investigation is being done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the FDA, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

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Mysterious hepatitis cases in children still rising

This is not the first time hepatitis cases have grabbed the headlines. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 650 children have been diagnosed with a mysterious and severe hepatitis infection since early April. The hepatitis cases, which have so far puzzled health officials across the globe, have been reported in 33 different countries.

According to a Friday statement from the WHO, at least 38 children have required a transplant, and nine kids have died. There are also 99 hepatitis cases pending classification. European countries have reported a majority of the hepatitis cases, with 222 probable cases reported in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Cases were also reported in Southeast Asia, the eastern Mediterranean region, Argentina, and the Western Pacific.

Data on the hepatitis cases in Europe showed that 75 percent of the children were under the age of 5. Of the 181 cases that were tested for adenovirus, 60 percent were positive. Of the 188 cases tested for COVID-19, 12 percent were positive. And out of the 63 cases that had data on COVID vaccination, 84 percent were unvaccinated.

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