US experts have said fresh strawberries could be the cause of a recent hepatitis outbreak seen locally.
According to American Health Officials, the strawberries are past their sell-by-date at this point but there are fears that some people may be freezing them to eat later.
The stores that sold the affected batches included Aldi, HEB, Kroger, Safeway, Trader Joe's and Walmart and would have been bought between March 5 and April 25 - branded as FreshKampo.
In a statement, the FDA said: “Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not sell, serve, or eat any fresh organic strawberries branded as FreshKampo or HEB if purchased between March 5, 2022, and April 25, 2022.”
It went on to say that the strawberries were “a likely cause of illness in this outbreak.”
At this point, the discovery is not thought to be responsible for the larger hepatitis outbreak that has infected 216 people across 37 states in the US, according to the WHO.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s health officials today confirmed that one child has died from the mysterious spread here, while two others have needed liver transplants in recent weeks.
On Thursday, the HPSC reported that the number of cases of children in Ireland “with hepatitis of unknown cause” had risen to 12.
This comes as a “small number” of other children who are showing symptoms under investigation.
All of the infections have been in children aged between one and 12, and each of them has required hospital treatment.
Parents are being urged to keep an eye out for the common signs and symptoms of hepatitis in children as cases continue to pop up in Europe, the UK, US, and further afield.
Almost 700 cases of the infection have been detected across 33 countries at this point, according to the World Health Organisation.
Across all cases, 38 children have required liver transplants and nine have passed away.
In a statement on Thursday, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre said: “Since March, 12 probable cases of children with hepatitis of unknown cause have been identified in Ireland and a small number of children are under investigation. This is more than would usually be expected over this period of time.
“All probable cases are in children between the ages of one and 12 years of age and all have been hospitalised. Two children have received a liver transplant and there has been one death associated with this disease.
“Investigations are currently ongoing to identify the cause of these illnesses.
“The common viruses that cause hepatitis (hepatitis viruses A, B, C, and E) have not been detected in any of the cases.
“Ireland is liaising closely with ECDC, UK and WHO colleagues in efforts to identify the cause of this illness. GPs and paediatric consultants are aware of the recent increase in cases of hepatitis amongst children and will be alert to identify any further cases that may develop.”
Symptoms of hepatitis can include:
- pale, grey-coloured poo (stools)
- dark urine
- yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice)
- muscle and joint pain
- a high temperature
- feeling and being sick
- feeling unusually tired all the time
- a general sense of feeling unwell
- loss of appetite
- tummy pain
- itchy skin
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