Hepatitis A & Kids

Phil: So what's the story about what's going on with hepatitis? We have 27 cases of hepatitis a, um, that is potentially linked to organic strawberries that have been sold in, in change from Walmart to trader Joe's to HEB. Um, how, how serious is this problem with hepatitis and our kids? 

Sally: Well, there are two things that we've been seeing in the news Phil. And so just to clear them up for everyone, there are, you know, we know that there are there's hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E, and hepatitis A and B, we actually have a vaccine for. So, it is very important to get this vaccine. A lot of children have this vaccine to protect them. Um, yes, there has been an outbreak in strawberries. We have seen cases on the rise and they have, they have warned people about these strawberries that were bought during this particular time at certain retailers. Now, those would've gone bad by now, but some people put strawberries in their freezer and save them. And so they can still contract the virus that way. And it is highly contagious. Now on the other hand, we've seen reports from the CDC in a concern about hepatitis C that is showing up mysteriously in children in the United States and actually globally. This is a different form of hepatitis. It does not have a vaccine and it's generally transmitted transmitted through blood. But it is much more serious and can cause liver problems. In fact, there are several children in the United States that have had to have liver transplants, but this is not the same thing as what you're getting in the strawberries. 

Phil: So the reality is that we should be looking both for kids and adults, very carefully at what's going on with hepatitis and for everybody to get the vaccines that they can. 

Sally: That is correct. That is the best thing we can do.