Berry-related Hepatitis A confirmed in WA

The West Australian adult who has been diagnosed with Hepatitis A had eaten frozen contaminated berries imported from China.

A packet of frozen Nanna's brand Mixed Berry is pictured in Brisbane

The first case of frozen berry-related hepatitis A has been confirmed in Western Australia. (AAP)

West Australian health authorities expect there will be more cases of Hepatitis A after the state's first case was confirmed, bringing the national total to 13.

Department of Health Communicable Disease Control director Paul Armstrong could not provide specific information about the case for confidentiality reasons, but said the patient was an adult who had eaten contaminated frozen berries.

Consumers are urged not to consume Nanna's Raspberries 1kg packs, Nanna's Frozen Mixed Berries 1kg packs, and 300g and 500g packs of Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries.

Dr Armstrong said the berries had been imported from China and distributed across the country.

"So anybody in the country who has eaten those berries is at risk and they should be on the look-out for symptoms," he told reporters.

People can develop symptoms within two months but will most likely start displaying them within one month of ingestion, Dr Armstrong said.

These include fever, nausea, loss of appetite and abdominal discomfort.

After several days jaundice can develop, with yellowing of the whites of the eyes and skin, dark urine and pale stools, sometimes accompanied by diarrhoea.

He said one in 1000 people who are infected with hepatitis A will die from the viral illness, which is caused when food is contaminated with faecal matter.

Exposure to an infected person can also cause the illness.

Some who are infected do not display symptoms at all.

Those who get sick usually recover within one to two weeks, but sometimes take longer.

Some will wind up in hospital.

More cases are expected as some consumers would have bought and eaten the berries before the public health alert was raised and supermarket shelves were cleared of the product, Dr Armstrong said.

"We're not out of the woods yet," he said.

There are currently no other suspected cases in WA.

"I don't think we're not going to get any more cases," Dr Armstrong said.

"It's eaten very widely."

The risk to people who have been in contact with the WA patient will be assessed, and then vaccinations will be given as needed, he said.

To be effective, that must happen within two weeks of exposure.


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Source: AAP


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