The Illinois Department of Public Health has issued its report on the hepatitis A outbreak in Milan, Illinois that sickened 34 people June through August of 2009. According to the report, the source of the outbreak for the majority of outbreak cases was food eaten at the McDonalds in Milan, Illinois where a food handler worked while infectious and handled foods that were not later cooked.

The report specifically points to the lack of proper hand washing as the cause of the outbreak:

If the first employee [at the Milan McDonalds] with hepatitis A had used proper hand washing technique while working the transmission of hepatitis A through food would not have occurred.

This employee reported to health officials that while infectious, the employee did not use gloves while working. The employee prepared foods such as bread for sandwiches that would not later be cooked, according to the report.

A previous inspection report from April 2009 indicated that bare-handed contact with food by food handlers was a concern at the McDonalds in Milan, Illinois.

Our law firm is representing people sickened in this outbreak and has represented people sickened in similar hepatitis A outbreaks linked to restaurant food handlers.

“Hepatitis A outbreaks involving restaurants are all too common. They usually involve failure to train and supervise employees regarding proper hand washing,” stated Attorney Fred Pritzker.

This outbreak could have been prevented in one of three ways:

• Frequent and adequate hand washing
• The use of gloves when touching food
• Hepatitis A immunizations for all employees who handle food
  

All restaurants should take these precautions to protect their patrons.

Source: Hepatitis A Outbreak Summary, Rock Island, Illinois, June-August 2009, Division of Infectious Disease, Illinois Department of Public Health, October 30, 2009.

Labels: hep outbreak, hepatitis A, hepatitis lawyer

Health officials involved in the Illinois McDonald's hepatitis A outbreak investigation have acknowledged that restaurant employees have been a focus of the probe. Now one of the Milan, Illinois, McDonald's employees has told a local television station that she was diagnosed with the disease in mid-June and informed her McDonald's manager of her illness on June 25. But the restaurant didn't close until last week, raising questions about who knew what and when. National food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker explores the circumstances as part of his latest opinion piece. Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is currently accepting cases from the Illinois McDonald's outbreak. To reach a hepatitis lawyer at the firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete an online form to receive a free case consultation from an attorney.

By Fred Pritzker

I represent survivors of foodborne illness including clients sickened with hepatitis A at restaurants.

Hep A is an acute liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV) that lasts from a few weeks to several months. Although it does not lead to chronic infection, it causes significant and debilitating symptoms and requires precautionary measures to prevent its spread to family members.

In a restaurant setting, Hep A is transmitted by consuming food or drinks contaminated with fecal matter. This usually occurs when a restaurant worker sickened with Hep A goes to work while still contagious and fails to properly wash his/her hands while preparing food served to paying customers like you.

In most cases, this is an utterly preventable disease. Workers exhibiting symptoms of Hep A should not work until cleared by a physician. Restaurant managers should not allow symptomatic employees on the premises.

Thus, it's particularly distressing to see reports of a Hep A outbreak involving a Milan, Illinois, McDonald's in which an estimated 10,000 patrons have been potentially exposed to the virus. Worse, according to WQAD-TV of the Quad Cities, a McDonald's employee diagnosed with hepatitis A told her manager at McDonald's of her diagnosis on June 25. Despite this, the restaurant giant claims it didn't learn of the diagnosis until July 13, following which the restaurant was closed.

I've recently written about proposed new food safety rules designed to reduce the incidence and severity of foodborne illness outbreaks -- including this one it would seem. Generally speaking they are not due to bad policies and procedures but rather gross failure to properly enforce them.

McDonald's is one of the best run food companies in the world. Its employee handbooks specifically instruct employees to:

• Call in if you are ill. Don't come to work when you are sick, such as a with a severe cold or you are suffering from diarrhea or vomiting. You are at a higher risk for transferring bacteria to food or others.
• If you start to feel ill, tell your manager. Good health is important throughout your shift. You are as at a higher risk for transferring bacteria to food or others.

But all the best policies and procedures won't make a restaurant safe if managers ignore the rules or fail to enforce them. Sadly, the only real incentive is public approbation and financial loss. Apparently, the health of customers is not incentive enough.

Labels: Campylobacter, class action lawsuit, hep outbreak, hepatitis A, hepatitis lawyer, Milan

The hepatitis A outbreak linked to the Milan, Illinois McDonald’s continues to grow with 20 people now diagnosed with hepatitis A. Eleven of them were hospitalized.

The Milan McDonald’s outbreak was allegedly caused by food handlers at the restaurant who were infected with the virus. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, one of the infected employees worked on seven days in July and the other one was diagnosed in June but not reported until July 13.

Hepatitis A is spread through the fecal matter of infected persons. In this case, the infected food handlers allegedly did not wash their hands well enough after having a bowel movement and then touched food that was consumed by McDonald’s patrons.

Restaurants are liable to patrons for illnesses, including hepatitis, caused by food provided by the restaurant. This means that those sickened with hepatitis A after eating at the Milan McDonald’s may have claims for compensation. Compensation for hepatitis A infections depends on the facts and may include the following:

• Medical expenses
• Lost income
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Disability
• Loss of quality of life
  

Hepatitis A can cause death. In those cases, the families have wrongful death claims against the party responsible for the illness.

If you or a loved one has been sickened in this outbreak, please contact our law firm. We have handled hepatitis A cases and have a national reputation in the area of food poisoning litigation.

Note: For those who ate at the Milan McDonald’s and have not been diagnosed with hepatitis A, the Rock Island County Health Department, with assistance from IPHMAS and the Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team (IMERT) and the Illinois Nurse Volunteer Emergency Needs Team (INVENT), is providing free vaccines and immune globulin shots tomorrow, Tuesday July 21, 2009 (vaccines and shots were also administered today):

When: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Additional clinics will be held if needed.
Where: Rock Island High School
1400 25th Avenue, Rock Island, IL
What: Hepatitis A vaccinations and immune globulin will be administered at no charge.
Who: Eligible recipients are those with the following criteria:
Consumed food or beverages at McDonald’s Restaurant in Milan, IL
**** From July 6 through July 10 and July 13 and 14, 2009****
Those eating on July 11 and 12 were not exposed
Those who consumed products from this restaurant during this time period will receive either hepatitis A vaccine or immune globulin, not both.
• Ages 1-40 years will receive hepatitis A vaccine
• Under one year of age , and over 40 years of age will receive immune globulin
If the person has previously received two doses of hepatitis A vaccine, no further immunization or immune globulin is necessary – they are already protected from hepatitis A. In addition, if someone has been ill in the past from hepatitis A, they would not become ill from it again – their body would have developed immunity. If a person receives this vaccine/ immune globulin more than 14 days after they have eaten at Milan McDonald’s, it may not provide protection.

Labels: hepatitis A, lawyer, McDonalds

A possible Illinois McDonald's hepatitis A outbreak is under investigation with at least 19 confirmed cases, including most of them in Rock Island County.

That's what county officials have told the Quad Cities Times. Rock Island County public health workers will soon be vaccinating certain individuals and giving immune globulin shots to help curtail the outbreak.

Rock Island County Board Chairman Jim Bohnsack told the newspaper that the health department ordered the closure this week of the McDonald's in Milan, Illinois, and its employees were screened for hepatitis A as part of the investigation. The western Illinois McDonald's closed Thursday and had not reopened Friday. Crews were busy cleaning it.

Bohnsack was quoted as saying the county will seek to have McDonald's pay for the hepatitis A shots. Other Illinois counties were there have been confirmed hepatitis A cases are Mercer, Henry, Warren and Woodford

Labels: hepatitis A, McDonalds