Buffalo, NY (WBEN) An employee at a Buffalo restaurant has tested positive for Hepatitis A. Those who ate at Destiny's on Fillmore are being urged to get a booster shot.
Erie County Health officials say following laboratory testing, interviews and a restaurant inspection, an employee who handles food at Destiny’s on Fillmore Ave in Buffalo was identified with the hepatitis A virus. The establishment has been notified of the potential exposure and the owner was advised to send staff reporting hepatitis A virus related symptoms for medical evaluation before returning to work. ECDOH has sent staff to the restaurant to vaccinate employees. Destiny’s will be subject to additional inspections over the coming weeks and is complying with ECDOH recommendations.
Symptoms of hepatitis A virus can include:
Fever
Fatigue
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Vomiting
Abdominal pain
Dark urine
Clay-colored stools
Joint pain
Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes)
“Over the past year we have seen a significant increase in the number of reported hepatitis A cases that had any number of the risk factors,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein. “As a comparison, for the years 2015 through 2017 there were between two to four new cases of hepatitis A infections reported. In 2018 there were 32 new cases and so far in 2019 there were 6 reported cases of hepatitis A. We strongly believe that these identified cases are just the tip of the iceberg and there are more cases in the community that have mild or atypical hepatitis A symptoms so they have not sought medical evaluation and have not yet been identified.”
“Since hepatitis A virus is a vaccine preventable disease and we are seeing a significant increase in new hepatitis A infections, we are recommending today that all Erie County residents who have not been fully immunized with the hepatitis A vaccine to complete the hepatitis A vaccine series,” said County Executive Mark Poloncarz. “The hepatitis A vaccine is very safe and very effective. The vaccines should be available at primary care providers, occupational health care offices, and travel clinics. In addition, over the past few months, I have authorized the Department of Health to provide hepatitis A vaccinations to at-risk individuals in the community to decrease the risk of the disease spreading.”