McDonald’s Hepatitis A Outbreak - Quad-Cities, Illinois
In July and August of 2009, public health officials in the Quad-City region of Illinois identified at least 32 confirmed cases of hepatitis A among residents of Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Warren, and Woodford Counties who ate food purchased from the Milan McDonald’s restaurant in the weeks before becoming ill with hepatitis A (HAV) infection or who were exposed to individuals who became ill with hepatitis A after eating food from the restaurant and were secondarily infected. The Rock Island County Public Health Department (RICPHD) identified at least eleven individuals who were hospitalized as a result of the severity of their hepatitis A symptoms.
To prevent the further spread of hepatitis A in the Quad-City area, RICPHD held clinics on July 20 and 21, 2009. Individuals who were exposed to the hepatitis A virus after eating food or beverages at the McDonald’s restaurant in Milan, IL from July 6 - 10, 2009, and on July 13 and 14, 2009, received either hepatitis A vaccine or Immune globulin injections to prevent hepatitis A infection. According to the health department, people aged one to forty received hepatitis A vaccine, and those younger than one year or older than forty received Immune Globulin injections.
On July 21, 2009, Marler Clark filed a class action lawsuit against McDonald’s on behalf of all individuals who received hepatitis A vaccine or Immune Globulin injections as a result of their exposure to food that was potentially contaminated with hepatitis A at the Milan, Illinois McDonald’s restaurant. Individuals eligible to join the class include those who received hepatitis A vaccination or Immune Globulin as a result of (1) their consumption of food that was manufactured and sold by the defendant at its restaurant; or (2) their exposure to, or close proximity with, persons who ate food at the restaurant or who became infected with HAV as a result of consuming contaminated food that was manufactured and sold by McDonald’s. The proposed class consists of all those persons who obtained the shots, at the clinic or otherwise, following the health department warning.
On July 23, 2009, Marler Clark filed a hepatitis A lawsuit against McDonald’s on behalf of a 16-year-old boy and his parents. The boy became ill with hepatitis A after consuming food purchased from the Milan McDonald’s restaurant and was hospitalized for four days after consuming food from the Milan McDonald’s restaurant in June of 2009. The law firm filed a second hepatitis A lawsuit against McDonald’s on behalf of a mother and daughter who both became ill with hepatitis A infections after eating at the Milan McDonald’s on August 13, 2009.