Table 1.
Identified incidents of HA infected food handlers with confirmed public health reports (n = 16, 1998–2004)
| Timing of discovery | City, province | Index case, location | Total # cases* | Public health Intervention | # immunized | Search method‡, reference # |
| Sep 2004 | Okanagan, BC | bar worker, restaurant | 1 | vaccine | NR | expanded, [27] |
| Apr 2004 | Port Clements, BC | vegetable department worker, food market | 1 | vaccine | NR | expanded, [26] |
| Apr 2004 | Burlington, ON | food service worker, hospital cafeteria | 1 | doctor referral† | NA | expanded, [25] |
| Dec 2003 | Burlington, ON | food service worker, restaurant | 1 | doctor referral† | NA | expanded, [24] |
| Jul 2003 | Grand Prairie, AB | part-time employee, restaurant | 1 | IG | >550 | expanded, [23] |
| Apr 2003 | Whistler, BC | food service worker, 2 restaurants | 1 | doctor referral† | NA | expanded, [22] |
| Apr 2003 | Winnipeg, MB | cases were linked to a restaurant | 17 | doctor referral† | NA | expanded, [21] |
| Sep 2002 | London, ON | food handler in produce department, grocery store | 1 | vaccine | 16,320 | expanded, [20] |
| Sep 2002 | Edmonton, AB | food handler, ethnic specialty food market | 1 | IG | 2,300 | expanded, [19] |
| Aug 2002 | Toronto, ON | food handler in produce department, grocery store | 3 | vaccine & IG | 19,208 | expanded, [5] |
| Mar 2002 | Vancouver, BC | food service worker, 3 grocery stores | 8 | vaccine & IG | 6,100 | expanded, [17] |
| Apr 2002 | Vancouver, BC | server, restaurant | 1 | doctor referral† | NA | expanded, [28] |
| Mar 2002 | Edmonton, AB | worker, lounge | 1 | IG | 50 | expanded, [18] |
| Apr 2001 | Victoria, BC | food handler, hospital food services | 1 | vaccine | NR | expanded, [16] |
| Jan 2001 | Edmonton, AB | deli worker, grocery store | 1 | IG | 5,400 | MEDLINE & expanded [15] |
| Nov 1998 | Montérégie, QB | owner and chef, restaurant | 7 | IG | NR | MEDLINE [14] |
Abbreviations: HA hepatitis A, AB Alberta, BC British Columbia, ON Ontario, QB Quebec, MB Manitoba, NR not reported, NA not applicable, IG administration of hepatitis A immune serum globulin, PEP post-exposure prophylaxis.
Notes: *Reported cases only. †Public health asked individuals who displayed any symptoms of hepatitis A to get tested through a family physician. ‡Search method refers to Medline/EMBASE search or the expanded search (i.e., searching news repository for timing and location, which was then verified by the respective public health report).