WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA 300 infected by hepatitis as officials seek source

A legal firm already has filed suit against Chi-Chi's.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The number of people affected by a hepatitis A outbreak at a Mexican restaurant continued to climb with state health officials reporting at least 300 confirmed cases Tuesday, but investigators hoped to pinpoint the source of the outbreak in the next week or so.
Of the cases tied to the Chi-Chi's Restaurant at the Beaver Valley Mall, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, 31 cases were in Ohio, eight in West Virginia, one in Florida, and one in South Carolina, said Richard McGarvey, state health department spokesman.
With help from a team of three epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, health officials continued to investigate the cause of the outbreak, which is believed to have begun as early as September, McGarvey said.
Meanwhile, Seattle attorney William Marler, whose firm has already filed suit against Chi-Chi's Restaurant, said the restaurant should reimburse people for the cost of receiving immune globulin shots, pay for lost wages, require all its employees be immunized and review food-handling policies.
"It is time Chi-Chi's stepped up to the plate and took responsibility for what has happened," Marler said in a statement.
Chi-Chi's response
Late Tuesday night, Chi-Chi's canceled a news conference that had been scheduled for today. The company said it would have a news conference when the cause of the outbreak becomes clearer.
"We realize that there has been a tremendous amount of speculation and confusion about this outbreak. We would like to emphasize that this remains an isolated incident and that none of the other restaurants in the chain have been affected by this outbreak," Bill Zavertnik, company chief operating officer, said in a statement late Tuesday. The outbreak has claimed one life. About 150 people attended private funeral services Tuesday for 38-year-old Jeff Cook of Aliquippa. Cook became ill after his family ate at the Chi-Chi's Restaurant in early October and died of liver failure Friday after a transplant.
Hepatitis A generally causes flulike symptoms that can last up to two months, but generally doesn't cause permanent liver damage unless the person already has liver problems or an immune deficiency problem.
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on Tuesday said four people were in fair condition and two remained in critical condition for illnesses tied to the outbreak.
Meanwhile, Central Blood Bank, which covers the Pittsburgh area, expanded their questionnaire for donors who ate at the restaurant between Sept. 1 and Nov. 2. Those who ate there in that time won't be allowed to give blood for three months.
The health department, which had set up an inoculation center in response to the outbreak, administered 8,230 shots of antibodies over a five-day period, McGarvey said. The restaurant, which voluntarily closed Nov. 2, remained closed Tuesday.