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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / DEC. 3, 2013
The Costco store in the Hawaii Kai Towne Center is seen in this 2013 photo.
A Hawaii Kai Costco bakery worker is the latest food service employee to have acquired hepatitis A, the state Department of Health confirmed today.
Costco is notifying 2,700 customers who bought baked goods at the store when the employee was working — June 16 to 20 — that they might have been exposed to the disease.
State epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said the likelihood of patrons of Costco becoming infected is quite low.
However, anyone who has consumed products from the bakery from those dates should contact their health-care provider for advice and possible preventive care.
Park said the Health Department didn’t issue an alert because Costco, with its membership retail structure, is able to track all the customers who bought items from the bakery.
Park said the Costco worker is one of the 93 Hawaii residents who have come down with hepatitis A.
This is the worst hepatitis A outbreak in the islands in nearly two decades. Twenty-nine of the 93 victims have required hospitalization. The onset of symptoms for the earliest victims was June 12 and the most recent is July 19.
Symptoms of hepatitis A infection include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort, dark urine, diarrhea, and yellow skin and eyes.
Health officials say that while a vaccination provides the best protection against the disease, frequent hand washing with soap and warm water after using the bathroom, changing a diaper, and before preparing food can help prevent the spread of hepatitis A. Appropriately cooking foods can also help prevent infection.
so, is the worker a primary or secondary transmitter? Seems like Dr. Park ain’t too worried bout it
as long as nobody dies from it..we all might get it eventually
Jeez people….wash you hand after you to to the bathroom and then handle food. Gross.
I work the register at our pizza restaurant so you will be safe. I wear plastic gloves
if you run the register and about how many bills do you touch? you using plastic gloves only protects you. by handling the bills, collecting and giving change, you are unwillingly spreading it between all of your patrons…
kinds like a typhoid mary…
I meant to say kind of like a typhoid mary
Unfortunately majority of restrooms have door handles to open/close. So after washing your hands you touch a dirty door handle, right back where you were.
Yes, if there are hand towels they can be used between you and the door handle. You might have noticed in upgraded/new airports, designed to eliminate door handles, walk in and out.
what if it’s customers who do not practice sanitary protocols after using the restroom. the customers then spread the infection on everything they touch, carts, products, cash. i see more customers walking out of restrooms without washing their hands than i see employees not washing their hands.
my wife thinks i am paranoid about pets carried in shopping carts. but, butts contacting and infecting cart surfaces expose food and other items placed in that cart to disease. i sanitize all carts before i use them in stores that allow pets in stores and shopping carts. i don’t have a problem with service animals that walk beside their owners.
EXACTLY!!!
Time to add Hep A testing or vaccination requirement for food workers?
You would have to retest all the time as the test is only a one time check. How about a week after the test? A month? Two months.
Well that’s why I asked if required vaccination is the answer. That lasts up to 15 years or more. Could require that all food-handling workers must have had the Hep A vaccination within the last 10 years (to be on the safe side) and only require testing in the case of an outbreak. It could also be unecessary, if this outbreak is a total outlier that’s unlikely to occur again. But perhaps it’s time to err on the side of caution. That’s why I pose it as a question…
Yes, periodic testing is in order — weekly or even daily if warranted.
Right. Weekly or daily testing. Give me a break.
The State Department of Health should make it mandatory for all food preparers and handlers to be tested for Hep A.
They just need to get the shots and it’s done.
I suspect Costco will dispose of all its baked goods. Expensive. Will still shop Costco. They’re the BEST. Gonna pick up some yummy bagels next week. Hope this person didn’the handle steaks as I ate one 2 days ago. Not worried as I always update vaccinations because I travel to Asia often.
The State needs to require HMSA and other health plans to cover the cost of the vaccine, before things get out of control. Right now the vaccine costs $200, so many people who SHOULD get getting it, aren’t.
Good luck with that idea. Instead of raising our premiums significantly, HMSA raised it a little and changed the co-pays so now we have to pay more for office visits, lab charges which was free before, and other services! Their idea now is to let people who need services pay for it through co-pays instead of raising premiums.
No, raise premiums so my current or former employer pays, not me.
I think with Medicare it is free. Not sure. Don’t ever remember having to pay such a high price for a vaccination unless it was the Shingles shot. Almost $200 at Kapahulu Safeway, and I had HMSA and Medicare.
My hepatitis A vaccination with Kaiser was free
Customers would have eaten the bakery items a long time ago. Periodic testing of employees involved with food — Costco workers, restaurant staff, etc. etc. needs to be done whether or not they are sick.
Seems our health dept is very slow in responding to these heath concerns. Why not have all current food workers tested or even better given a vaccination ? This seems very silly but then its Hawaii
K. Who’s up next. It’s moving.
Article says that health department didn’t issue an alert because Costco can track who purchased baked goods. What they fail to realize is that Costco often samples their baked goods to their customers and there is no way to track that.
I don’t use the shopping carts in the stores. There should be a law that says shopping carts in a food store should be used only for food and other products the store might sell. I have seen animals, adults, portable bicycles, skateboards and even used car batteries in shopping carts that people put food in..
I can speak on behalf of men…..there are WAY TOO MANY men who do NOT wash their hands after using the restroom….1 & 2 both! I see it all the time in restaurants, stores, and in other public restrooms. Grow the hell up guys! Didn’t your mommy and daddy teach you these things??
What are you hanging out in the bathroom or something? Sounds kinda freaky man.
Should install ceiling cams in worker’s restrooms and require all workers to wear a large ID that can be seen from a distance or by a cam. Force every food handler to wear hairnets and gloves al ALL times. Clear plastic face shields, too. All new workers should be tested for all communicable diseases and all illegal drugs. Vicodin in a legal drug.
Should install ceiling cams in worker’s restrooms and require all workers to wear a large ID that can be seen from a distance or by a cam. Force every food handler to wear hairnets and gloves al ALL times. Clear plastic face shields, too. All new workers should be tested for all communicable diseases and all illegal drugs. Vicodin in a legal drug. Remember this. The Costco worker might have been infected outside of Costco. The Big Island sushi worker had been to Oahu before he got infected. All the other sushi workers were tested negative. Should say that for Taco Bel, Baskin Robbins, and any other restaurants whose other workers are clean. There is something all these food workers have in common. What?
has the Dept of Health looked in the homeless population for helping the spread of Hep A? The people are very unsanitary–p-ing and crapping all over the place…sidewalks, street, greentbelts–anywhere—and they frequent places like costco to get their free drinks–yes–havent you seen a homeless person walk up to the soda dispensers @ iwilei and fill their non-costco containers?–or McD’s?–where every there is a self serve soda machine–and guess how clean their hands are—I dont like it and they should be run out of these areas–the Kapolei & Maui costcos have the best solutions–keep all that stuff INSIDE. And people-the panhandlers–if you want to help–give them a granola bar–not money–if money you are only helping them get HIGH–dont enable the
Here’s the problem solver: Wash your hands thoroughly after bathroom use and if everyone adheres to those rules… .
You can scream “wash your hands” until the moon turns blue but face it, many of the “cultures” who have infiltrated our State were not brought up to do that. I see that in the womens restrooms all the time and my husband attests to seeing that in the men’s side as well. Disgusting!
Investigate cockroaches. Diseases can spread beyond the premises through the sewer pipes. I like to mix insecticide concentrate with water in a bucket and pour it down ALL my sink, shower, and bathtub drains at the same time every two months. Also spray Othro Home Defense poison (get the biggest bottle with the battery-operated nozzle) along all the wall-floor interfaces thoughout my home and outside. The first time you do this you will see lots of dead roaches on the floor. After that you will have everything is control. Trust me.
All restaurants should do this EVERY month. Try return to the premises around 4 AM and look around with flashlight. Look at your rubbish containers and the outside floor drains nearest them.
$200 for a Hep-A shot? Maybe the gov’t should provide free shots for those who want it especially when there is an outbreak. The government is always giving or thinking of giving free things like cell phones (and now wireless service), tuition, etc., so why not vaccines to curb and protect the public.