Hepatitis A cluster in Northern British Columbia

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A few weeks ago CDC released a progress report on hepatitis A in the U.S. has been reduced from over 30 cases/100,000 people to less than 1/100,000. Most of the reduction has come since vaccination for the virus has been recommended.

I’m not sure what the rates look like in Canada but the good folks of Dawson Creek, British Columbia (that’s in Canada) are dealing with a cluster of hep A illnesses.

Health officials continue to investigate the source of the outbreak, which made five people sick earlier this year.

Northern Health spokesperson Jonathon Dyck said the health authority has not had any reports of new cases since January. “We are still in an outbreak monitoring situation, as we have to go through that process before our medical health officers officially make a decision if it’s over,” he told the Alaska Highway News.

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About Ben Chapman

Dr. Ben Chapman is a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. As a teenager, a Saturday afternoon viewing of the classic cable movie, Outbreak, sparked his interest in pathogens and public health. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements, and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers, and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, maybe not surprisingly, Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman.