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. 2021 May;26(20):2100432.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.20.2100432.

Hepatitis A outbreak associated with consumption of dates, England and Wales, January 2021 to April 2021

Tatiana Garcia Vilaplana  1   2 , David Leeman  1   3 , Koye Balogun  2   4 , Siew Lin Ngui  5 , Emily Phipps  4 , Wazirzada M Khan  6 ; Incident Team  7 ; Sooria Balasegaram  8
Collaborators, Affiliations

Hepatitis A outbreak associated with consumption of dates, England and Wales, January 2021 to April 2021

Tatiana Garcia Vilaplana et al. Euro Surveill. 2021 May.

Abstract

We report a national hepatitis A virus (HAV) outbreak linked to the consumption of Medjool dates. Twenty-nine cases of three genetically related sequences have been identified. Epidemiological investigations identified a suspected product (adjusted odds ratio: 47.36; 95% confidence interval: 1.79-1,256.07; p = 0.021). Microbiological testing has confirmed the presence of HAV on dates recovered from two cases and the product has been recalled. Date consumption is currently likely to be increased in connection with Ramadan, with potential ongoing contamination risk.

Keywords: HAV; foodborne; hepatitis A; outbreak investigation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Phylogenetic tree of hepatitis A virus outbreak sequences associated with date consumption (n = 30), in a background of Middle Eastern sequences generated in the Public Health England Virus Reference Department, England and Wales, January–April 2021
Figure 2
Figure 2
Confirmed and probable cases of hepatitis A virus infection associated with date consumption, by week of onset of symptoms, England and Wales, January–April 2021 (n = 31)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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