The Public Health Authority of Cabarrus County in North Carolina has issued an emergency alert about a possible hepatitis A exposure at the Papa John’s Restaurant at the Cambridge Commons location in Charlotte. A worker has been diagnosed with the disease.
The store is close to the Cabarrus County line, so residents of Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties are most likely affected. Exposure may have occurred in people who bought and ate food from this restaurant between March 24 and April 7, 2014.
If you did purchase and eat food from that location, you must get a hepatitis A or immune globulin vaccination by today, April 11, 2014 if you were at the restaurant on March 28. The vaccine is only effective if it is given within two weeks of exposure. If you have had a hepatitis A vaccine, or have had the disease, you are probably protected. Check with your doctor if you are unsure.
Cabarrus Health Alliance will be providing vaccinations on Friday, April 11, 2014 from 4:00 to 8:00 pm at 300 Mooresville Road in Kannapolis, North Carolina. The county will release more information about vaccination locations for Saturday April 12 and Sunday April 13, 2014. We’ll let you know about these updates.
Hepatitis A is a virus that affects the liver. Symptoms of the illness include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, fever, and jaundice. Symptoms appear 2 to 7 weeks after exposure. Even people who only very mildly ill can be highly infectious. Most people recover without complications, but anyone with a pre-existing liver condition could become very sick.
