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Strawberry Scare: A Berry Bad Patch

When 9-year-old Amanda Bischoff of Marshall, Michigan, got sick last month, her family thought she had the flu. Then Amanda turned bright yellow, down to the whites of her eyes. "She looked like a daffodil," said her mom.

Amanda is one of 175 people in Michigan who came down with hepatitis A (hep-uh-tie-tiss A), a virus that harms the liver. Last week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said some frozen strawberries served in school lunches carried the disease. Victims turn yellow, vomit, have a fever and dark urine, and feel tired. Most people recover in a few days or weeks.

Iowa, Arizona, Georgia, California and Tennessee may also have received tainted berries. School officials in those states were told to destroy frozen strawberries from batches believed to be affected.

The strawberries were grown in Mexico, frozen and packaged in California, then shipped all over the nation. No one is certain how the berries became contaminated. FDA officials say fresh strawberries do not carry hepatitis A.

In the six states, thousands were notified of their possible exposure. They were advised to get gamma globulin (gam-uh glob-you-lin) shots, which can prevent hepatitis A from developing up to 14 days after exposure.

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