The Austrian outbreak of hepatitis A virus (HAV) is connected to the one recently declared over in Sweden, which affected 20 people. Of these, 17 were confirmed and 3 were probable. In July and August, Austria recorded 9 hepatitis A cases with the source unknown.
By sharing the sequence information identified in Sweden internationally, 14 cases in Austria were linked to strawberries from the same producer.
Genotyping of the hepatitis A outbreak strain in Sweden showed of 17 of 20 cases confirmed an identical genotype IB strain. Environmental investigations and interviews with kitchen personnel found the strawberries had not been heated adequately before serving. Following the outbreak, a juice bar chain -where at least 10 cases had occurred- stopped using frozen strawberries in smoothies and changed to pasteurized frozen pellets of the fruit.
Since mid-May, only one wholesaler in Austria purchased frozen strawberries from the producer in Poland, but further distribution included two wholesalers in Slovakia and one ice cream producer in Italy.
According to Food Safety News, The Austrian importer of frozen strawberries from the Polish producer is expecting a supply of 22 tons at the end of 2018 and has requested evidence for a HAV-negative test result of samples. It has also asked for a guarantee from purchasers that frozen strawberries are heated before consumption.
Genotyping of the hepatitis A outbreak strain in Sweden showed of 17 of 20 cases confirmed an identical genotype IB strain. Environmental investigations and interviews with kitchen personnel found the strawberries had not been heated adequately before serving. Following the outbreak, a juice bar chain -where at least 10 cases had occurred- stopped using frozen strawberries in smoothies and changed to pasteurized frozen pellets of the fruit.
Since mid-May, only one wholesaler in Austria purchased frozen strawberries from the producer in Poland, but further distribution included two wholesalers in Slovakia and one ice cream producer in Italy.
According to Food Safety News, The Austrian importer of frozen strawberries from the Polish producer is expecting a supply of 22 tons at the end of 2018 and has requested evidence for a HAV-negative test result of samples. It has also asked for a guarantee from purchasers that frozen strawberries are heated before consumption.
