Northern Virginia restaurant worker tested positive for Hepatitis A

Tropical Smoothie Café responded to the lawsuits in an emailed statement.

Dr. Alison Ansher, the state health department director for Prince William County, said 14 of the 35 cases have been reported in Northern Virginia.

Susceptible individuals who ate or drank anything at the restaurant on those dates, say officials, should contact their health care providers or contact the Prince William Health District information line at 703-792-6345.

People who ate or drank at this location on August 12 through 18 may still benefit from the vaccine or immune globulin to prevent Hepatitis-A because it will be received within two weeks of initial exposure.

The department confirmed that all the potentially contaminated berries were pulled from the 96 Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations in Virginia no later than August 8 or August 9.

All of the Egyptian-based frozen strawberries were pulled from the 96 Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations by either August 8 or August 9, and health department inspectors independently verified that the strawberries had been pulled, according to department officials.

This comes as the Virginia Department of Health said there have been 35 confirmed cases of hepatitis A across the state linked to potentially contaminated frozen strawberries imported from Egypt by Tropical Smoothie Café. His lawsuit seeks $100,000.

Of the 28 Virginia hepatitis A cases linked to Tropical Smoothie Cafe, eight have been in the eastern region of Virginia, which includes Hampton Roads; 10 in the north region; five in the northwest; and five in the central.

Hepatitis A is an inflammation of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus. Infected people don’t always have symptoms and can be contagious before symptoms appear.

The health department believes the vast majority of the frozen strawberries consumed in July and August were not contaminated, though some were. Other symptoms of hepatitis A include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine and light-colored stools. Upon learning of the potential link to strawberries, Tropical Smoothie Cafe immediately conducted a voluntary product withdrawal of all strawberries sourced from Egypt and found an alternate supply.