Hepatitis Study

[Anchor Lead]

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun an investigation into how the hepatitis E virus is spreading. Europe has been seeing a growing number of hepatitis E infections spurring from sausages and ham. The Korean public health authority is trying to find out if the country is facing the same risk.

[Pkg]

As Europe has been reporting a series of hepatitis E cases caused by processed pork products like sausages, local public health authorities are launching an investigation into how the virus is spreading in Korea. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it is launching a probe to find out the number and seriousness of hepatitis E cases in Korea and the sources and routes of infection. Hepatitis E is caused largely by drinking water contaminated with the hepatitis E virus or eating undercooked meat from contaminated deer or pork. In Korea an average of about 100 people are diagnosed with hepatitis E annually. Most of the cases are caused by consuming boar bile or raw deer meat. Healthy adults generally get better naturally and the fatality rate is quite low at around 3%. However, people with weak immune systems such as pregnant women or epilepsy patients must be very careful as the fatality rate in such populations can spike up to 20%. The Korean CDC advised people to thoroughly cook their meat and processed products, and pay extra attention to personal hygiene by washing hands under running water for more than 30 seconds before handling food.