That’s it, it’s (finally) strawberry season: pies, fruit salads, compotes and other super-gourmet and healthy jams are ours!
Yes, but here it is: although they are very rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, strawberries must not escape rigorous cleaning before consumption, at the risk of being the cause of disease…
Precisely: on the other side of the Atlantic, strawberries are currently at the origin of an “epidemic” of hepatitis A, report our colleagues from Reuters this Monday, May 30, 2022. A total of 17 cases are reported to have been recorded in the United States and 10 cases in Canada, in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
There is a (non-compulsory) vaccine against hepatitis A
As a reminder, hepatitis A is an infectious disease that affects the liver. Caused by a virus (the HAV), it is transmitted mainly by the faecal-oral route: clearly, it occurs when a person ingests a product (often a food) contaminated by the stools of a person infected with the HCV virus. ‘hepatitis A.
Rare in France (with an annual incidence rate of approximately 3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), hepatitis A is generally mild: after an incubation period of 30 days on average, the disease causes fever, nausea, abdominal pain and jaundice. No treatment is necessary.
Vaccination against hepatitis A is not compulsory in France: it is however recommended for people who present a risk of chronic hepatopathy (i.e. liver disease).
In the United States and Canada, the strawberries (although labeled “organic”…) suspected of being the cause of this “epidemic” of hepatitis A have of course been withdrawn from sale…
Read also :
- Pesticides: which fruits and vegetables are the most contaminated?
- Childhood hepatitis of unknown origin: what we know about the possible causes
- Hepatitis C in 12 true/false
