Civil servants are investigating an increase in a highly contagious liver infection that they have linked to an infected supermarket food.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has identified a wave of hepatitis A infections in Great Britain after 95 people were sick with a serious liver infection, with 58 so sick that they had to be admitted to the hospital.
Hepatitis A – which is caused by a virus spread by polluted faeces that make its way in eating and drinking – can be deadly but usually unusual in the UK.
Civil servants have now confirmed two separate clusters of the virus in Great Britain, with 53 cases that have been reported in the last wave since December 2024 alone.
Analysis of patient interviews has linked the outbreak to a specific food item that was purchased at an unnamed supermarket, which most patients reported consume before they fell ill.
Civil servants, who have not yet mentioned the product, stated that it has emerged as a possible vehicle of transmission.
According to a report, the first cluster saws 19 people admitted to the hospital with the infection, with most patients from 50 to 69 years old.
The second cluster saw 39 cases that hospital care needed due to the disease.
Hepatitis often has no noticeable symptoms, but meaningful signs can be a change in bowel movements, nausea, joint pain, fever and fatigue
In general, 95 cases have been reported on both waves of the infection.
Cases with regard to the first cluster of infections vary from January 2021 to March 2025, with 23 cases that have been reported in the first wave since August 2024.
The last wave struck in January 2023, with cases that are still reported until March of this year.
There are no deaths yet linked to the outbreak.
Public Health Scotland leads the current study alongside UKHSA and said that the lack of international journeys between patients and the repeated mention of certain food products helps lead their research.
Hepatitis A has few noticeable symptoms in the early stages and if untreated can lead to liver failure and can even prove to be fatal.
Unlike the related disorders Hepatitis B and C, Hepatitis A does not cause chronic liver disease, but can still lead to serious complications in some patients.
Signs of the infection include a high temperature, flu-like symptoms-such as fatigue, headache and muscle pains or being sick, abdominal pain, changes in bowel movements, light gray colored faeces and itchy skin.
The outbreak is linked to an unnamed supermarket product that reported patients consuming. Stock image
These usually develop within two months after infection, but can go unnoticed in some cases.
In more severe cases, the skin and eyes of a patient may seem yellow, a condition known as jaundice and a serious sign that the liver has difficulty functioning correctly.
But the NHS warns that most children, and some adults, may not have any symptoms that indicate that they are infected.
Hepatitis A is usually only clarified within three to six months, but doctors can prescribe medication to relieve the symptoms.
Everyone who has not been vaccinated or infected rather runs a higher risk of catching the disease.
Good personal hygiene – including washcloth before meals and after using the bathroom – can help prevent the spread of the infection.
Patients with the diagnosis of hepatitis A is advised not to drink alcohol, to prepare food or drink for other people, having sex without a barrier method such as a condom or needles with others until they are no longer contagious.
This is usually about seven days after the first symptoms start, for those who have no jaundice.
It comes when British health leaders an increase in the number of acute – Sudden Begin – Hepatitis – cases in children aged 10 years and younger reported.
Between January and May 2022, nearly 180 children fell ill with an unusual form of liver disease.
Usually only about 20 children will increase an inexplicable case of hepatitis every year.
An outbreak in a school in Huddersfield in 2023 led to a warning for public health, after two children had sustained hepatitis A.
Pupils and employees were offered hepatitis A vaccinations as a precautionary measure, despite the fact that the vaccination is not routinely offered in the UK because the risk of infection is so low.
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