Hepatitis A Warning For Raw Tuna From Vietnam

The FDA has issued an Import Alert for fresh and frozen raw tuna from a Vietnamese seafood company because of reported hepatitis A contamination.

Sustainable Seafood Co. Ltd. of Vietnam, is the second Asian company to make the FDA Import Alert list for fresh and frozen raw tuna because of hepatitis A contamination.

On Dec. 1, 2017, the FDA added fresh and frozen tuna from Indonesia’s P.T. Deho Canning Co. to the Import Alert list.

The FDA says hepatitis A virus contamination of seafood is a result of unsanitary conditions in the production or packing facilities, such as reduced worker hygiene, inadequate worker sanitation facilities, and contaminated water supplies.

“Hepatitis A virus is excreted in feces of infected people and can produce clinical disease when susceptible individuals consume contaminated water or foods,” the FDA Import Alert says.

Hepatitis A transmission is mostly through person-to-person contact through fecal contamination, but common-source epidemics from contaminated food and beverages also occur.

“Poor sanitation and crowding facilitate transmission. Contamination of foods by infected workers in food production facilities/processing plants and restaurants is common. No known non-human sources of the virus exist,” according to FDA.

Import Alerts signal the world about which products or companies are experiencing food safety problems.

If an importer does not do anything about to resolve the issues, products subjected to automatic detention at U.S. borders and ports of entry will be sent back or destroyed. FDA can also ask customs officials to seize detained products.

Anyone who has been immunized with the hepatitis A vaccine, which is an inactivated (killed) vaccine, or previously had the disease, are considered protected from the virus

Hepatitis A can potentially be prevented if given a vaccination within two weeks of having come in contact with the virus, according to the CDC.

Individuals can obtain hepatitis A immunizations through their primary care physicians, and many pharmacies.

To find a HepA vaccine location, visit the Vaccine Finder.

There are three FDA approved hepatitis A vaccines:

• Vaqta (Merck) and Havrix (GlaxoSmithKline Beecham Biologicals), are approved for people ≥12 months of age in a 2-dose series
• A combined hepatitis A and hepatitis B Twinrix, (GlaxoSmithKline) vaccine is approved for people ≥18 years of age in the United States

The CDC Vaccine Price List provides current HAV vaccine contract prices and general information.

Vaccine discounts can be found here.

Vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects, says the CDC.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of vaccines to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CDC.