Outbreaks
Chi-Chi's Hepatitis A Outbreak
Pennsylvania State health officials first learned of a potential HAV outbreak from emergency room doctors in Beaver County, who reported an unusually high number of hepatitis A cases in late October, 2003. Investigators from the health department began investigating the people who had fallen ill, and determined that the common thread for all was having eaten at the Chi Chi’s restaurant at the Beaver Valley Mall. Once the department isolated the restaurant as the probable source of the outbreak, Chi Chi’s closed the restaurant voluntarily and it remained closed for a number of weeks.Ultimately, over 650 confirmed cases, both primary and secondary, were linked to this outbreak. The victims included at least 13 employees of the Chi Chi’s restaurant, and numerous residents of six other states. Four persons died as a consequence of their hepatitis A illnesses. In addition, more than 9,000 persons who had eaten at the restaurant during the period of potential exposure, or who had been exposed to ill persons, obtained immune globulin shots as protection against the hepatitis A virus.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), conducted further studies investigating the incident. The FDA issued a statement dated December 9, 2003, reaffirming that this outbreak was associated with eating raw or undercooked green onions.
Outbreak Updates
- Chi-Chi's checks to arrive soon
- Chi-Chi's to settle lawsuit
- Class-action notices to be mailed in Chi-Chi's outbreak
- Men suing Chi-Chi's for 'hepatitis soup'
- Outback Steakhouse closes on acquisition of Chi-Chi's restaurants
- Two lawsuits filed against Chi-Chi’s on behalf of hepatitis A outbreak victims
- Tristate company sued by Chi-Chi's
- Bankruptcy court OKs Chi-Chi's $2 million in hepatitis settlements
- Fourteen hepatitis claims settle in first mediation sessions
- Hepatitis victims describe ordeals
- Hepatitis A menace still looms months later
- McDonald's hepatitis case remains a mystery
- Judge Approves Mediation in Hepatitis A Outbreak
- Produce liability
- Chi-Chi's agreement awaited
- Hepatitis claims may go to mediator
- Possible secondary hepatitis case probed in Beaver
- Months Later, Man Still Suffers From Hepatitis A
- Local Hep-A Victim Gets Check From Chi-Chi's
- Hepatitis survivor lucky to be alive
- Experts Seek New Effort to Control Hepatitis A
- Epidemiologist praises hepatitis response
- Hepatitis' rarity in U.S. makes it dangerous
- Hepatitis plaintiffs want judge to OK lawsuits against Chi-Chi's
- Hepatitis-A Victims’ Attorneys Ask Bankruptcy Court to Lift Stay
- Secondary cases of Hepatitis A predictable, lawyer says
- Students who got hepatitis likely shared food
- State confirms secondary of hepatitis A cases connected to Chi-Chi's
- Clues, but no smoking gun
- Officials fear Hepatitis A spread
- U.S., Mexico at odds over where onion probe's going
- Importing health hazards
- U.S. reports problems at 4 onion companies
- FDA Update on Recent Hepatitis A Outbreaks Associated With Green Onions From Mexico
- Investigators say viral link may never be found
- Green onions remain in the hot seat -- Four U.S. firms named in lawsuit
- Officials: No Link to Hepatitis, Onions
- One of 4 firms linked to U.S. hepatitis outbreak violated hygiene standards
- Between the Lines
- Mexican governor: inspectors found no hepatitis in Baja California
- Castellini named in hepatitis suit
- How going out for 'decent meal' led to transplant for Beaver man
- Water key suspect in hepatitis A outbreak
- Hepatitis backlash hits mostly local, Mexican restaurants
- Hep Patient's Lawsuit Names U.S. Onion Suppliers
- Mexican official says FDA rushed to judgment
- Hepatitis cases rise to 635 in Beaver County
- U.S. Inspectors checking onion farms in Mexico
- Produce problems make FDA look weak
- Chi-Chi's becomes tougher sell
- A polite but firm guardian
- She stays fit, keeps eye on outbreak
- Long, anxious wait follows post-wedding family dinner
- No slowdown, no changes at border
- From the fields of Mexico to Western Pennsylvania
- Transplant teams take things one day at a time
- Hepatitis was the furthest thing from their minds
- Hepatitis waning, but costs continue to climb
- In Mexico's onion fields, the work goes on
- 'Smoking gun' in outbreak will be hard to find'
- Grower fears devastation unless source of virus found
- County cuts price of immunization shots for hepatitis A
- Mexico closes 4 green onion exporters
- Hepatitis outbreak a sobering reminder of vulnerability
- Victims' Attorney Asks Chi Chi's For Names Of Suppliers
- Food-Borne Illness From Produce on the Rise
- Report: Outbreaks, Georgia And N.C. Hepatitis A Strains Linked
- Dirty Rotten Scallions
- Chi-Chi's Exec Calls Restaurants Safe
- Mexico closes four onion export companies as a precaution after U.S. hepatitis outbreak
- Toll of hepatitis A outbreak climbing
- Chi-Chi's litigation hinges on company's insurance
- Onions Blamed For Deadly Virus
- FDA stops green onions from 3 Mexican suppliers
- Chi-Chi's asks bankruptcy court for permission to pay hepatitis victims
- Hepatitis A Cases Up to 540
- Hepatitis outbreak in Beaver County running out of gas
- Investigation lets Chi-Chi's staff off hook
- U.S. Bars Mexican Onions Due to Hepatitis a Outbreak
- Hepatitis A outbreak tied to imported food
- Hepatitis news affecting Beaver County residents in different ways
- Hepatitis cause eludes officials
- Attorney for Hepatitis Victims Cautions against Assuming Green Onions Source of Hepatitis Outbreak
- Community Is Reeling From Hepatitis Outbreak
- Hepatitis probe following pattern
- Pa. Hepatitis A Outbreak Kills 3rd Victim
- Second death in hepatitis outbreak
- Beaver County hepatitis probe changes focus
- Two more lawsuits filed against Chi Chi’s in Hepatitis Case
- How hepatitis A was spread remains a mystery in Beaver County
- Hepatitis outbreak reaches 300 cases
- Attorney For Hepatitis Victims Responds To Chi Chi’s Press Conference Announcement
- Hepatitis outbreak claims first fatality
- 240 cases of hepatitis listed in Beaver
- Lawsuit filed against Chi Chi’s on behalf of hepatitis-A victims
- Hepatitis outbreak in Beaver County reaches 130
- Thousands at risk of hepatitis A
- Attorneys Call for Mandatory Hepatitis-A Vaccinations for all Foodservice Workers
- PA Health Department Issues Hepatitis A Advisory For Patrons of Beaver Co. Restaurant
