Bakery is closed down after 9 hit by hepatitis
AN award-winning bakery is being investigated after at least nine people were struck down by a rare viral infection.
The JB Christie bakery in Airdrie, Lanarkshire – renowned for its morning rolls and Scotch pies – has been temporarily shut while health officials probe a possible link to a cluster of cases of hepatitis A.
The liver infection is rarely seen in the UK, but it is rife in the developing world where there is poor access to hygiene and sanitation.
NHS Lanarkshire said nine people had been infected – including some treated in hospital – with another nine suspected cases.
Officials said initial investigations led them to the bakery, which was the 2013 World Scotch Pie Champion. Last year its morning rolls were voted best in Scotland.
Two of the company’s shops in Airdrie and Coatbridge have also closed and retailers supplying JB Christie products have been told to withdraw them.
Dr Josephine Pravinkumar, NHS Lanarkshire consultant in public health medicine, said: ‘Our initial investigations have indicated that there may be a link between these cases and the bakery.
‘The owners took the decision to temporarily close their bakery and their two outlets in Airdrie and Coatbridge immediately and are fully co-operating with environmental health officers and public health staff. All staff are being provided with information and support and necessary actions are being taken to prevent further infection.’
Dr Pravinkumar said anyone with a flu-like illness, nausea, fever, abdominal pains or jaundice (yellowing of the eyes or skin) should contact NHS24 on 111 or their GP. Hepatitis A causes inflammation of the liver. While infected people typically make a full recovery, the disease can result in serious complications, including liver failure.
The virus is spread in infected human waste, unlike more severe blood-borne hepatitis B and C.
JB Christie managing director Andrew Chisholm said: ‘As soon as we were notified of this possible link, we immediately took the decision to temporarily cease our operations and fully co-operate with environmental health and public health officials.
‘We hope to resume business as normal as soon as possible.’
Lanarkshire was also the site of Scotland’s deadliest E.coli outbreak.
In 1996, 21 people died and more than 500 fell ill after butcher John M Barr & Son in Wishaw supplied contaminated meat.