Personal Injury Law

Erie County New York Vaccination Clinics for Hepatitis A Victims of Wegmans

By Bill Marler, Esq.

Newsday reports that the Erie County Health Department scheduled free vaccination clinics Saturday and Sunday after a produce handler at a suburban Buffalo grocery store was diagnosed with Hepatitis A. The clinics are for those who bought unsealed produce at Wegmans on Sheridan Drive in Williamsville since January 7 and who have eaten it raw within the past two weeks, according to health officials.

Wegmans removed potentially affected produce and sanitized the area. The company said it would issue refunds to customers who believe they bought affected produce, but asked they dispose of it at home and not bring it back.

Hepatitis A is one of five human hepatitis viruses (hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E) that primarily infect the liver and cause illness. An estimated 80,000 cases occur each year in the U.S., although much higher estimates have been proposed based on mathematical modeling of the past incidence of infection. Each year, an estimated 100 persons die as a result of acute liver failure in the U.S. due to Hepatitis A, but the rate of infection has dramatically decreased since the Hepatitis A vaccine was licensed and became available in the U.S. in 1995. We have represented thousands of people impacted by Hepatitis A from the following restaurants: Carl's Jr., Chi-Chi's, D'Angelo's, Friendly's, Maple Lawn Dairy, McDonald's, Quizno's, Silver Grill Location Catering, Subway and Taco Bell.

Full post as published by Marler Blog on February 09, 2008 (boomark / email).