A possible outbreak of hepatitis A associated with semi-dried tomatoes, England, July–November 2011

C Carvalho; H L Thomas; K Balogun; R Tedder; R Pebody; M Ramsay; S L Ngui

doi:10.2807/ese.17.06.20083-en

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A possible outbreak of hepatitis A associated with semi-dried tomatoes, England, July–November 2011
C Carvalho^1,2 , H L Thomas^1,2,3 , K Balogun¹ , R Tedder⁴ , R Pebody¹ , M Ramsay¹ , S L Ngui⁴
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Affiliations: ¹ Health Protection Agency, Health Protection Services Colindale, London, United Kingdom ² European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden ³ Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP), Health Protection Agency, United Kingdom ⁴ Health Protection Agency, Microbiology Services Colindale, London, United Kingdom

Correspondence:
C Carvalho
carlos.carvalho hpa.org.uk
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Citation style for this article: Carvalho C, Thomas H L, Balogun K, Tedder R, Pebody R, Ramsay M, Ngui S L. A possible outbreak of hepatitis A associated with semi-dried tomatoes, England, July–November 2011. Euro Surveill. 2012;17(6):pii=20083. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.17.06.20083-en Received: 27 Jan 2012

Abstract

In October 2011, two primary cases of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection with identical HAV genotype IB strains to those seen in other outbreaks associated with semi-dried tomatoes were reported in England. Both cases had consumed semi-dried tomatoes. Epidemiological investigations revealed two additional cases of genotype IB strains with different sequences who also reported having consumed semi-dried tomatoes. In November, five cases of HAV infection with closely related strains were identified in the Netherlands. A foodborne multiple-strain outbreak is suspected.