Personal Injury Law

Milan, IL McDonalds Linked to 19 Confirmed Cases of Hepatitis A

By Marler Clark LLP

The McDonalds in Milan, IL is closed and at the center of an investigation into a possible Hepatitis A outbreak.

It may be linked to either a customer or employee of the fast-food restaurant.

There were 19 confirmed cases of Hepatitis A reported in the area by Thursday afternoon that appear related to the McDonalds.

Rock Island County, where Milan is located, had the most with 13 cases. Six more were reported in in Henry, Mercer, Warren and Woodford Counties.

The mother of one McDonalds employee was upset by the news.
"I'm concerned for the public's welfare as well as my child," she said. Her daughter worked from 11-5 on Wednesday.

She accompanied her daughter to the Rock Island County Health Department. That's where employees are being screened for Hepatitis-A. "Hepatitis is a serious illness," she said. "It needs to be addressed, and I think they waited too long."

Theresa Foes, Rock Island County Health Department, said the investigation is underway, but does not yet have all the answers.

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.

Full post as published by Hepatitis Blog on July 17, 2009 (boomark / email).