Sushi sold in a Provigo grocery store in Montreal presents a low risk of being contaminated with hepatitis A, warns the Regional Public Health Department (DRSP) of Montreal, which urges affected consumers to be vaccinated against this disease, if it hasn’t already been done.
The risk of transmission “is low”, but it is very real, indicates the Montreal Public Health in a press release issued late Friday evening. He noted that the sushi prepared at Provigo located at 6600 rue Saint-Jacques Ouest from November 17 to 20 and November 24 and 25 could have been contaminated with hepatitis A, an infection caused by a virus that attacks to the liver.
People who have been adequately vaccinated against this virus or who have developed antibodies against it following contamination in the past have nothing to fear, says the DRSP of Montreal. “If you have not already been vaccinated against hepatitis A and have never had the disease before, quickly contact Info-Santé at 811 to obtain an appointment to receive a vaccine against hepatitis A” , however, indicates the press release sent to the media at the end of the evening. Consumers concerned will then be able to obtain this vaccine for free, it adds.
People who have consumed sushi in this grocery store in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district are also invited to watch for the potential appearance of symptoms associated with hepatitis A, such as lack of appetite, nausea, fever. or “general malaise”. Montrealers who develop such symptoms by January 13 are encouraged to see a doctor and tell them about the possibility that they have contracted hepatitis A.
People infected with this virus generally recover in two months “without complications or sequelae,” the statement said.
“However, the elderly, people with chronic liver disease and immunocompromised people can develop acute liver failure sometimes requiring a liver transplant or leading to death,” adds Montreal Public Health.
To detect this disease, blood tests are needed.