Health officials are urging anyone who bought strawberries from two brands between March 5th, and April 25th of this year, to throw them out. The
Minnesota Department of Health says one person contracted Hepatitis A, after eating strawberries from the FreshKampo brand. According to MDH, that person bought the strawberries from Mississippi Market and has since recovered.
Health authorities are also warning people to throw out strawberries from HEB brands even if they have been frozen.
"Hepatitis A is really hearty and it survives things like freezing or when you wash your produce," said state epidemiologist, Genny Grilli. "It can survive all of those things and stay on the food item. So if you have these berries, throw them out."
It usually takes a month after exposure for Hepatitis A to show up. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and an upset stomach. Grilli says jaundice, that is yellowing of skin and eyes, is unique to Hepatitis A. Public health experts are encouraging people to get vaccinated.
Related
"If someone's vaccinated, they should have very good protection from Hepatitis A, which means that they wouldn't get sick at all. They would have an immune response to the virus. And it's a very good vaccine, even if you just have one dose, that provides really good protection," said Grilli.
Health authorities also say 17 cases — 12 of which have resulted in hospitalization — have been reported in the U.S. while another 10 cases and four hospitalizations were reported in Canada.