Hawaii seeks root of hepatitis cases

HONOLULU — Frustrated Hawaii health officials say they are still trying to identify the source of a hepatitis A outbreak that has affected at least 74 people on the island of Oahu.

“It’s not as feasible as a lot of people might think,” state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said of finding the source.

A major challenge has been the long incubation period of the disease, Park said. Symptoms, if there are any, can show up two to six weeks after exposure.

Hepatitis A is spread by contaminated food or water or by close personal contact. Symptoms can include fever, fatigue, appetite loss, abdominal discomfort and diarrhea.

Health Department staff members have scrambled to interview all those who have been sickened. But they say it can be difficult for them to remember who they came into contact with or what they consumed.

“We have to sit down with each person and say look at the calendar, go back almost two months and list every single thing that passed through your mouth — food or drink or what-not — in the past 52 days,” Park said.

Officials have been looking for commonalities such as shopping histories among the patients, but “there’s nothing really tying them together, unfortunately,” Park said.

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