- Woman has died of hepatitis A due to an outbreak which led to nationwide recall
- The 64-year-old SA woman contracted hepatitis A from frozen pomegranate
- The product, which was sold at Coles, was recalled in April after outbreak
- The woman’s death has been called a ‘rare and tragic case’ by health officials
A woman has died of hepatitis A due to an outbreak which led to a nationwide recall of a frozen fruit product.
The 64-year-old South Australian woman contracted hepatitis A from frozen pomegranate arils, and died in hospital last Wednesday, ABC News reported.
Packs of Creative Gourmet 180g frozen pomegranate, sold at Coles, were recalled in April after a hepatitis A outbreak in New South Wales.
SA Health chief public health officer Professor Paddy Phillips said the woman’s death was a ‘rare and tragic case’.
Packs of Creative Gourmet 180g frozen pomegranate arils, sold at Coles, were recalled in April after a hepatitis A outbreak in New South Wales
‘The majority of people infected with hepatitis A recover fully and the woman’s death is the only death linked to this recalled product nationally to date.
‘The incubation period for hepatitis A is generally 15-50 days, so we don’t anticipate further cases because the product was recalled two months ago.
‘While we expect most people would have disposed of the recalled product, we urge everyone to double-check freezers and remove any affected products.’
The woman’s death has been referred to the coroner.
About 2000 packets of the pomegranate, which was grown in Egypt, have been sold.
SA Health chief public health officer Professor Paddy Phillips said the woman’s death was a ‘rare and tragic case’ (pictured)
Of those 226 packets have been returned, but health authorities believe many more were thrown away.
There have been 24 cases of hepatitis A cases linked to the recalled pomegranate across Australia.
Symptoms of hepatitis A include nausea, vomiting, fever, yellowing skin and dark urine.
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