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Christmas Communion at a NY Church May Have Infected Hundreds with Hepatitis A
Long Island Parishioners Are Urged to Get Hepatitis A Vaccinations
Jan. 4, 2011
Catholics who receive communion at Sunday mass believe the sacred wafer they swallow contains the body of Christ. New York health officials have warned the parishioners of a Long Island church that the wafers they received on Christmas Day may have also contained hepatitis A.
The Nassau County Department of Health in New York is warning parishioners who attended Christmas Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Massapequa Park to seek treatment, worried that the hundreds who took communion could fall ill.
Those who attended the 10:30 a.m. and noon Masses are most likely to be at risk, according to the health department.
While no individuals who attended the Masses have reported illness, MaryEllen Laurain, a spokesperson for the county's department of health, said vaccines will be offered as a "preventative measure."
Hepatitis A, a liver disease, is contracted by putting something in your mouth that has been contaminated with fecal matter from an infected person. [...]
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/catholics-received-holy-communion-christmas-risk-hepatitis/story?id=12537329