HEPATITIS OUTBREAK Chief: Poland kids face only low risk

Valley restaurants wouldn't discuss whether the outbreak has hurt business.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
POLAND -- Poland pupils are at low risk of exposure to a hepatitis A outbreak that has infected more than 500 people, according to Dr. Robert Zorn, superintendent of the school district.
A teacher at Poland Middle School, his wife and their child, who live in Columbiana County, are infected.
The district learned of the infection last week and has been doing everything it can to assure safety, he said Saturday.
Zorn said under state law he could not identify the worker, but said the teacher and his family are receiving treatment and doing well.
There have been no other reports of infection among the district's staff or pupils, he added.
The teacher may have become infected after eating at a Chi-Chi's Mexican Restaurant in Monaca, Beaver County, Pa. The infection, which can cause liver damage, has claimed three lives.
Zorn said the teacher would not have been touching the same surfaces as pupils. The staff has been following cleaning instructions from the Mahoning County Board of Health.
Letter to go out
An advisory letter will go to parents Monday. Those with additional questions should contact the school nurse, school principal, or their physician, Zorn said.
Workers at the Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurants in Boardman and Niles said Saturday they could not answer questions about how business has been since the outbreak.
They referred calls to a spokesman, who did not return phone calls Saturday night.
The number of people infected in the outbreak has exceeded 500 and is likely to continue rising for another week, Pennsylvania Health Department officials said Saturday.
Thousands have lined up for inoculations since the outbreak was reported in early November among people who ate at the restaurant in Beaver County Mall.
A Chi-Chi's executive said the company has adopted "extraordinary measures" companywide, including sickness logs for employees and asking workers to sign "wellness statements" asserting they are not ill, in an effort to prevent similar outbreaks elsewhere.
As of Saturday, 510 cases of hepatitis A had been confirmed in the outbreak, Pennsylvania Health Department spokesman Richard McGarvey said.
He said more infections are expected because people who contract hepatitis A typically don't exhibit its early flulike symptoms for 28 to 30 days.
The state started offering antibody inoculations Nov. 5, shortly after the first cases were diagnosed, to anyone who ate at the restaurant after Oct. 22. The antibody greatly reduces the risk of hepatitis A developing, but it must be given within two weeks of exposure.
The virus' nearly monthlong incubation period means people exposed before Oct. 22 could still start showing symptoms through next weekend. In severe cases, it can lead to liver failure.
"We still haven't reached that date, when all those inoculations are going to help," McGarvey said Saturday. After Nov. 22, health officials expect the number of new infections to level off and eventually stop, he said.
About 8,500 people received the shots because of the outbreak linked to a Chi-Chi's at Beaver Valley Mall, about 45 miles southeast of Youngstown.
All 60 employees of that restaurant will remain under medical supervision until each has been medically cleared, said Bill Zavertnik, chief operating officer at Louisville, Ky.-based Chi-Chi's. The restaurant is closed until Jan. 2.
Employees test positive
Eleven employees who tested positive for hepatitis A remain under medical care and the rest were given antibodies, Zavertnik said.
The company already certifies its managers in food handling safety, in addition to the new employee health measures initiated at all of its restaurants, scattered from Minnesota to the mid-Atlantic states.
Zavertnik said Chi-Chi's food purchasers are cooperating with investigators to identify the source of the outbreak and the company has hired an outside medical expert to work with the federal Centers for Disease Control and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Health investigators say they still don't know the source of the virus. They're looking at foods, including green onions.
The Food and Drug Administration said green onions and foods containing green onions should be cooked thoroughly to reduce or eliminate the risk of contracting hepatitis A. Foods such as salsa, green salads and tuna salad often contain raw or lightly cooked green onions.
The FDA said it will monitor the safety of green onions and will take further actions if necessary.