About Hepatitis

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Featured Outbreak

McDonald’s Hepatitis A Outbreak (Quad-Cities, Illinois)

During the summer of 2009, public health officials in the Quad-City region of Illinois identified 32 confirmed cases of hepatitis A among patrons of the McDonald’s restaurant in Milan, Illinois.  At least eleven people were hospitalized due to the severity of their hepatitis A symptoms. 

According to news reports, the hepatitis A outbreak timeline is as follows:

  • June 17, 2009A person who works at the McDonald’s restaurant in Milan, Illinois, is diagnosed with hepatitis A.
  • July 10, 2009 The Rock Island County Public Health Department (RICPHD) learns that five people, including two from Mercer County, have tested positive for hepatitis A.
  • July 13, 2009 The RICPHD learns of the McDonald’s worker’s hepatitis A infection via a report delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.
  • July 14, 2009 Representatives from RICPHD visit the Milan McDonald’s restaurant and instruct McDonald’s employees on proper hand-washing techniques to prevent the spread of hepatitis A.
  • July 15, 2009 RICPHD becomes aware of four additional hepatitis A cases, and learns that one is a second McDonald’s employee.  The Milan McDonald’s is closed for deep cleaning, and a formal notice regarding the hepatitis A outbreak is issued.  All McDonald’s employees are tested for hepatitis A.
  • July 21 and 22, 2009 Thousands of people exposed to the hepatitis A virus through the consumption of food prepared at the Milan McDonald’s restaurant receive hepatitis A vaccinations or Immune Globulin injections to prevent hepatitis A infection.

July 23, 2009, the Marler Clark law firm filed a class action lawsuit against McDonald’s on behalf of all individuals who received a hepatitis A vaccination or Immune Globulin injection to prevent becoming ill with hepatitis A infection.  The firm has also filed individual lawsuits on behalf of three people who became ill with hepatitis A infections after consuming food purchased from the Milan, Illinois, McDonald’s restaurant.