Thursday, November 06, 2003
By Christopher Snowbeck, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
At least two hepatitis A patients sickened in a Beaver County outbreak have been transferred to UPMC Presbyterian, where a hospital spokeswoman said they were being treated in the intensive care for serious liver problems.
UPMC spokeswoman Lisa Rossi said she could provide no further details.
Hepatitis outbreak in Beaver triggers shots for nearly 3,000
While hepatitis A does not typically cause such serious illnesses, the report is not surprising considering how many people have been sickened by the outbreak, said Dr. Andre Weltman, a public health physician with the state Department of Health.
The number of confirmed hepatitis A cases remains at 85 today, three days after the Department of Health announced an outbreak involving employees and patrons of the Chi-Chi's restaurant in Beaver Valley Mall. While a cause of the outbreak has not been determined, investigators are focusing on the hygiene practices of restaurant workers.
Health officials were expected to announce an increase in the number of confirmed cases later today.
At a clinic in the Beaver County Community College, the state Department of Health continues to provide shots of immune globulin to people who ate at the restaurant from Oct. 22 through Nov. 2. Immune globulin is not a vaccine, but provides temporary immunity to hepatitis A.
As of 2 p.m., 1,337 had shown up for the clinic today and the health department had administered 1,148 shots, said spokesman Richard McGarvey.
Yesterday, 2,974 people attended the clinic and the health department administered 2,805 injections, McGarvey said. Some people were turned away late yesterday because there weren't enough health care workers, but staff was increased from 12 yesterday to 20 today, McGarvey said.
