Health officials confirm hepatitis A case in worker at Kahala McDonald’s
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Health officials encourage the public to consider getting the hepatitis A vaccination.
The state Department of Health has confirmed another case of hepatitis A involving a food service worker on Oahu.
The infected employee of the McDonald’s at 4618 Kilauea Ave. in Kahala worked on Sept. 20-21, 23-24, and 27-29 and Oct. 1, 4-5, 7, and 11, health officials said today in a news release.
The case is one of two more cases of the contagious virus reported by the Health Department today, increasing the total number of people diagnosed with the disease to 291. The onset of illness has ranged between June 12 and Oct. 9. Seventy-three people have required hospitalization.
In August, officials confirmed the source of the hepatitis A outbreak was contaminated frozen scallops imported from the Philippines. They were served raw at Genki Sushi restaurants on Oahu and Kauai. The Health Department halted all sales and distribution of the product and ordered affected Genki restaurants to shut down. They reopened three weeks later after the restaurants were thoroughly sanitized and all employees were medically screened and cleared.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said the McDonald’s worker case “was identified and reported to us later in their illness but had their symptom onset within the 50-day maximum incubation period from the date the scallops were embargoed.”
“The department will continue to investigate all reported cases of hepatitis A and remain alert for other late-presenting cases as well as secondary cases,” she said.
Health officials say the chance of customers getting hepatitis A from an infected food-service worker is “very low,” but they make the information public as a precaution.
They encourage people to consider getting vaccinated and to thoroughly wash their hands, especially after using the bathroom and before preparing foods. A statewide list of vaccinating pharmacies is available at http://808ne.ws/vaccinationslist or by calling the Aloha United Way information line at 211.
The outbreak of the infectious liver disease in Hawaii, described to be the largest outbreak in the state in at least 25 years, began this summer.
11 responses to “Health officials confirm hepatitis A case in worker at Kahala McDonald’s”
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time to boycott?
boycott who?
Why is it that a large number of people who have come down with HepA are persons associated with the food/restaurant business??
Coincidence or is something else in play here.
Maybe because a large number of people work in the food/restaurant business.
yup
I agree with fiveo. I don’t think we are being told the entire truth. I’ve been thinking the exact same thing this entire time. The SOURCE is still in the food industry—-and I don’t think it’s just the rotten PI scallops!!
I don’t think the majority of cases are people in the food/restaurant business. For some reason, the SA reports cases involving the food/restaurant businesses.
Of 291 cases thus far, only 15 cases were people who worked in the food/restaurant/airline business. Ref: http://khon2.com/2016/07/20/oahu-hepatitis-a-outbreak/ These articles may not be totally accurate but that’s a different story.
Did these last two cases get infected from eating the tainted scallops or catch it from a close family member who ate scallops? Had anyone gotten infected from a secondary source in a public place inadvertently using a public restroom or touching a contaminated door handle? Or even from a restaurant other than genki? What is the true risk of catching hepatitis A in a public place just going about everyday activities?
In regards to Hep A, uku…all you have is questions. But in regards to rail you think you have all the answers. What a tangled web you weave.
lol