The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department is investigating a confirmed Hepatitis A case involving a food service worker at the Cold Spot at 710 Cross Lanes Drive in Nitro.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting an ongoing, multi-state Hepatitis A outbreak, including an outbreak in neighboring Kentucky.
Unlike Hepatitis B or C, which spreads through direct contact with the blood of an infected person or high-risk activities such as sharing needles, Hepatitis A is transmitted by fecal – oral contact, either from person-to-person or consumption of contaminated food or water.
The employee did not continue working at the restaurant after the Hepatitis A diagnosis. KCHD visited the restaurant and observed food-service techniques. As a precaution, members of the individual’s family and coworkers have received Hepatitis A immunizations, according to CDC protocols.
Most adults with Hepatitis A have symptoms that generally resolve within two months of infection. Symptoms include diarrhea, fatigue, jaundice, low appetite, nausea and stomach pain. Most infected children less than six years of age have no symptoms or have an unrecognized infection. The best way to prevent Hepatitis A infection is to get vaccinated. Hepatitis A vaccinations are now routine for children.
Janet Briscoe, KCHD director of Epidemiology and Threat Preparedness, is encouraging anyone with questions to contact their health care providers or KCHD.
Stanley Mills, director of Environmental Health Services, said KCHD sanitarians found no unsafe food handling practices indicating restaurant patrons need to be immunized because of possible exposure. The restaurant owner has cooperated fully with the investigation.
This is the second Hepatitis A case this year investigated by KCHD. The first case, investigated in January, was linked by the CDC to the multi-state outbreak. Prior to these cases, it was more than two years since a confirmed case of Hepatitis A was reported in Kanawha or Putnam County.