(CelebrityAccess News Service) — An outbreak of Hepatitis A among String Cheese Incident fans who travel from show to show to see the Colorado jam band, has prompted the Centers for Disease Control to investigate these outbreaks. Hepatitis A is a liver disease that can cause nausea, vomiting and complications.
The String Cheese Incident is cooperating with the CDC has posted the following on its website:
"Thanks everyone for your patience while we collected the facts surrounding the recent Hepatitis A issue at summer concerts. While it is certainly something that we should all be educated about and aware of, we are relieved to have learned, through conversations with the Center for Disease Control (CDC), that there is no reason to be alarmed and that with a bit of cooperation and consciousness, our community can contribute our part toward public safety.
"Here are the facts:
"CDC has received reports of 10 confirmed hepatitis A cases in young adults that have attended outdoor concerts all around the U.S. The cases are from five states and range in age from 17 through 43 years; half are male. Illness onset occurred between June 1 and July 10, 2003. All of the cases have attended outdoor concert events this summer, including a wide variety of bands and festivals throughout the country. The CDC is currently investigating the venue and camping sites throughout the United States to try to determine possible contaminated food or water sources, and to begin following the path of transmission.
"The CDC considers 10 cases to be a very "limited cluster" of disease and won’t even call this an outbreak. But they do need to be sure that the disease is not spreading within various concert communities.
"For this reason, The String Cheese Incident has volunteered to allow the CDC to be on site during the Warfield and Trinity County shows. The CDC hopes that those folks within our community who have been traveling to concerts this summer can help out by answering a few questions. Mostly, they want to ask if you or someone you know has been sick. Please take the time to stop by their booth in the lobby if you think you can help.
"The String Cheese Incident has always held that the safety of their community is of utmost priority. We are confident that this recent cluster of diagnosis does not compromise this in any way. The band, management, and promoters along this summer run will be taking every step possible to make sure that the issue does not in fact become a problem. We also need you, our community, to help.
"We just need to make sure that there are no unknown cases out there. If you or someone you know has been sick, please take the time to talk with a health care worker during the Warfield or Trinity County shows or call Priti Patel at 404-395-0713. Also, practice prevention:
"Always wash your hands with soap and water after using the bathroom, changing a diaper and before preparing and eating food and avoid sharing water bottles, cigarettes and such." — by Jane Cohen and Bob Grossweiner
