Fears of hepatitis A in frozen blueberries in the Netherlands

Authorities in the Netherlands fear that hundreds of people may have been infected with hepatitis A after consuming frozen blueberries from the country's largest supermarket chain, Albert Heijn. As of January 14, at least 12 people, aged between 25 and 77, had been confirmed infected. One-kilogram bags of frozen blueberries have since been removed from shelves. A spokesman for the National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) said on Tuesday that the reported infections are serious cases where people sought medical help. "We believe there may be hundreds of infections," the spokesman said. According to health authorities, the first patient appeared at the end of November last year, but the number of cases has increased. Therefore, the RIVM launched an investigation that led to the discovery that blueberries were linked to these cases. The Netherlands Food and Products Authority (NVWA) took samples and detected hepatitis A contamination. Albert Heijn issued a safety warning on ...