OUTBREAK OF INFECTIOUS HEPATITIS—PRESUMABLY FOOD-BORNE

Abstract

The way or ways in which infectious hepatitis is transmitted under natural conditions are poorly defined, but it is believed that the intestinal-oral circuit is an important route of spread. It has been emphasized that personal contact¹ is a common medium of transmission, although epidemics presumably caused by contaminated water,² food,³ and milk⁴ have been described. However, with the exception of the report by Neefe and Stokes,^2b who described the occurrence of nonicteric hepatitis in volunteers after the ingestion of well water from a children's camp in which an epidemic occurred, the lack of suitable laboratory methods has made it impossible to incriminate with certainty contaminated foodstuffs or water even though the circumstances attending certain outbreaks strongly suggested this relationship. Since so many epidemiological aspects of infectious hepatitis are poorly understood, it is believed to be important to document any evidence that, although not conclusive,