Vaccination Clinics Set After Second NH Restaurant Worker Diagnosed With Hepatitis A
CONCORD, N.H. (CBS/AP) — New Hampshire health officials say a second worker at a Contoocook restaurant has developed hepatitis A and that between 100 and 200 people might have been exposed to the liver disease.
Read: Hepatitis A Information
Public Health Director Dr. Jose Montero said Friday it's linked to a previous case of a bartender developing hepatitis A at the Covered Bridge Restaurant last month.
Montero said the second worker was at the restaurant on Aug. 13 and Aug. 20.
If you were at the Covered Bridge Restaurant on August 13th, the health department says it is too late for you to receive the vaccine, but you should be alert to potential symptoms of hepatitis A.
If you were at the restaurant on August 20th, health officials recommend you receive the vaccine or an immune globulin injection.
Clinics will be held Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at Bow High School.
Anyone with questions can call the New England Poison Control Center at 1-800-562-8236.
Hepatitis A can be spread when an infected person handles food without appropriate hand hygiene.
Montero said it's not easy to tell if a person has developed hepatitis A.
"You may have no symptoms. The incubation period may be up to 50 days," he said at a news conference. Montero said health officials are working with the restaurant to monitor the health of its 24 employees.
Hepatitis A can last from a few weeks to several months. Symptoms include fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice, abnormal liver tests, dark urine and pale stool.
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