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Volume 20, Number 4—April 2014
Research

Underdiagnosis of Foodborne Hepatitis A, the Netherlands, 2008–20101

Mariska PetrignaniComments to Author , Linda Verhoef, Harry Vennema, Rianne van Hunen, Dominique Baas, Jim E. van Steenbergen, and Marion P.G. Koopmans
Author affiliations: Municipal Health Service Zoetermeer, Zoetermeer, the Netherlands (M. Petrignani, R. van Hunen); National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands (L. Verhoef, H. Vennema, D. Baas, J.E. van Steenbergen, M.P.G. Koopmans); Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (M.P.G. Koopmans); Leiden Medical University, Leiden, the Netherlands (J.E. van Steenbergen)

Main Article

Table 1

Hepatitis A virus transmission categories and supplementary public health actions, the Netherlands, 2008–2010

Category Description Public health action*
Travel-associated History of travel to a country with high, intermediate, or low HAV endemicity (18) Advise on future travel precautions
Person-to-person Local contact with HAV-infected person Widen contact tracing to identify risk groups and vaccination (e.g., school, health care setting, homeless, travel group)
MSM Male-with-male sex Widen contact tracing
Foodborne Suspected food product or food handler Trace sources (notify the food safety authority)
Unknown No other applicable category No further action

*In addition to hygiene measures, vaccination of household contacts, and restriction from school or work according to national guidelines; HAV, hepatitis A virus; MSM, men who have sex with men.

Main Article

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Main Article

1Preliminary results of this study were presented at the 15th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Virology; 2012 September 4–7; Madrid, Spain.

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