September 13, 2006
Citizen Times
MARSHALL (NC) – Health officials have linked cases of hepatitis A around the country to a Madison County farm.
Fourteen people who work on the farm or were guests there are suspected to have contracted the disease, the Madison County Health Department announced at a news conference today.
Officials would not identify the farm.
Hepatitis A has been confirmed in four Madison County residents, while 10 more cases are under investigation in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, Washington and Oregon.
The farm has not sold produce during the past two weeks.
Officials said they also are investigating the possibility last month’s case at Trevi Restaurant & Gourmet Market in Asheville is connected to the farm.
“That link was looked at, but we haven’t gotten any confirmation of it,” Buncombe County Health Department spokeswoman Beverly Levinson said.
They’re waiting for lab work to return and interviews to wrap up, she said.
Buncombe County has found seven cases of hepatitis A so far this year, Levinson said.