PITTSBURGH Man dies in hepatitis outbreak

Clinics for people seeking antibody injections have been extended to Monday.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
PITTSBURGH -- One of five people hospitalized with complications from a hepatitis A outbreak that has infected more than 185 people died Friday night, hospital officials said.
The Allegheny County Coroner's office identified the victim as Jeffrey Cook, 38, of Aliquippa. He died less than a week after Pennsylvania health officials announced cases of the infectious liver disease apparently linked to a Chi-Chi's Restaurant at the Beaver Valley Mall near Monaca, about 45 miles southeast of Youngstown.
Susan Manko, a spokeswoman for UPMC Hospital in Pittsburgh, declined to release further information about the patient.
185 cases
As of Friday, state health officials had confirmed more than 185 cases of the infectious liver disease, 158 affecting residents of Pennsylvania, including some from Lawrence County. There are also 21 victims from Ohio, including at least 12 from Columbiana County, four from West Virginia, one from Florida and one from South Carolina, said Health Department spokeswoman Jessica Seiders.
Unlike the more serious variants, hepatitis B and C, which are generally spread by intravenous drug use or risky sexual behaviors, hepatitis A is spread by eating something contaminated with the feces of someone with hepatitis A, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Food-borne outbreaks generally involve fresh vegetables or other uncooked foods handled by a contaminated person, but the disease is relatively rare.
Symptoms of hepatitis A include fever, nausea, diarrhea, jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain and loss of appetite. The disease usually clears up in about two months, but it can cause serious complications for those who already have liver problems or immune deficiencies.
It is "decidedly unusual" for someone to die of hepatitis A, said Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dixon, adding that less than 1 percent of hepatitis A patients die from the illness.
At least four Pennsylvania people remained hospitalized Friday, some in critical condition, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Six from Columbiana County had been hospitalized as of Friday, according to Mike Ruta, regional epidemiologist for Columbiana, Carroll and Tuscarawas counties. Ruta said hospitalization doesn't necessarily mean those victims are in serious condition. Doctors are recommending hospitalization because the best remedy for hepatitis A is bed rest and "just allowing your body to fight it on its own," he explained.
Chi-Chi's statement
On Friday, Chi-Chi's said it regretted the outbreak and is working with state health officials to pinpoint the cause. The restaurant has remained closed.
"We have clear and long-standing policies that prohibit employees from working while sick. Several employees may have worked, not knowing they had been infected or could pass on the infection to others," the company said in a statement.
No specific cause of the disease has been located, but officials don't believe anyone purposely contaminated food or the restaurant, Health Department spokesman Richard McGarvey said.
More than 5,200 people have received free antibody injections this week to help them ward off the disease. Because the disease takes about two weeks to incubate, the injections won't help those who may have been infected before Oct. 22.
The Health Department extended its clinics for people seeking antibody injections to Saturday and Monday because of the growing number of possible victims, the department said.