Outbreak affects residents in region

Chi-Chi's owner planned to sanitize the restaurant before reopening.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
MONACA, Pa. -- At least 130 people, including at least 12 from Columbiana County, Ohio, and at least a few from Lawrence County have contracted hepatitis A after Pennsylvania's largest food-borne outbreak in a decade, authorities said.
At least two of those infected were in intensive care.
Six from Columbiana County have been hospitalized, according to Mike Ruta, regional epidemiologist for Columbiana, Carroll and Tuscarawas counties. He added, though, that hospitalization doesn't necessarily mean those victims are in serious condition. Doctors are recommending hospitalization because the best remedy for hepatitis A is bedrest and "just allowing your body to fight it on its own," he explained.
Three more probable cases are pending in the county as of 8:45 this morning, he added.
Three people are being treated at the Ellwood City Hospital in Lawrence County for Hepatitis A. A hospital spokeswoman said all three were admitted, but officials were not releasing their conditions.
About 20 people were treated at Jameson Hospital in New Castle, according to Linda Cody, hospital spokeswoman.
Cody said only some were admitted and others were directed to the clinic in Beaver County for treatment.
Root of problem
Jessica Seiders, Pennsylvania Department of Health spokeswoman, said the 130 confirmed cases includes four employees of Chi Chi's restaurant here, to which the outbreak has been traced.
Health officials have encouraged anyone eating at the restaurant in the last two weeks to get vaccinated at a clinic set up at the Beaver County Community College. Others who had been to the eatery in the last month are encouraged to go to their physician for testing.
Seiders said the virus can only be transmitted through fecal matter, often passed by people handling food who have not washed their hands after using the bathroom. She said it cannot be transmitted through any other bodily fluid.
Officials suspect that the virus was likely spread by a worker who failed to wash his or her hands before handling food.
An estimated 5,000 people dined at the Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurant between Oct. 22 and Sunday, prompting health officials to set up an emergency inoculation center at the college. About 2,800 people were immunized Wednesday, and 2,400 more received injections of antibodies Thursday, state health department spokesman Richard McGarvey said.
Chi-Chi's owner, who voluntarily closed the restaurant Monday, planned to sanitize the restaurant before reopening, according to state Agriculture Department spokeswoman Donna Pinkham. A telephone message left for Prandium Inc., the parent company of Chi-Chi's, was not returned Thursday.
Recent outbreaks
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of the disease include fever, nausea, diarrhea, jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain and loss of appetite. The disease usually clears up in about two months.
While the number of cases is at a low, outbreaks have occurred throughout the nation. In September, about 280 people in Georgia and Tennessee were sickened by contaminated green onions, including 210 people who ate at restaurants in the Atlanta area.
Last year, there were seven reported cases of outbreaks associated with restaurants, said Anthony Fiore, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC.
"Almost always, the food items have been salad or sandwiches that require touching and don't get cooked," Fiore said.
State health officials declined to discuss the conditions of the people who contracted hepatitis A, but University of Pittsburgh Medical Center spokeswoman Lisa Rossi said two or three people were in intensive care for liver problems.
In response to the outbreak, McGarvey said Pennsylvania health officials ordered 8,000 shots of immune globulin, an antibody treatment that greatly reduces the chances of contracting the disease if given within 14 days after exposure.
Further enforcements
Officials encouraged restaurants to be diligent about following basic hygiene. Starting next month, the state will enforce a ban on bare-hand contact with food and require restaurants to have washing stations in food preparation areas, Pinkham said.
Pinkham said the state Agriculture Department, which inspects restaurants, gave Chi-Chi's restaurant high marks on its past two annual safety inspections. She said the owner will be allowed to reopen at his or her discretion.
People who went to the emergency clinic in Monaca on Thursday said they were upset with the popular restaurant.
"It's disgusting," said Amanda Deutsch, 23, of Economy, who said she was at Chi-Chi's on Oct. 24 but won't be going back. "It's not a low-priced restaurant. You expect higher quality."
Sean Roush, 28, who dined with his two children at the restaurant Oct. 23, said he'll likely eat at home more.
"You don't know who's preparing the food," Roush said.