An employee at the Dogwood Southern Table and Bar at 4905 Ashley Park Lane in Charlotte, North Carolina has been diagnosed with hepatitis A. This person didn’t prepare food, but cleaned silverware and drink ware and delivered it to tables. Those items could have been contaminated with the virus. If you ate there on Tuesday, February 3, 2015 for dinner service or Wednesday, February 4, 2015 for dinner, you may have been exposed to the virus.
The last day for vaccinations to prevent illness is Tuesday, February 17, 2015 for those who ate there 2/3/15, and Wednesday, February 18, 2015 for those who ate there 2/4/15. Hepatitis A or immune globulin vaccinations are only effective if given within two weeks of exposure. Contact your doctor for more information.
The symptoms of a hepatitis A infection include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, clay colored stools, dark urine, joint pain, and yellowing of the skin and eyeballs, also known as jaundice. They usually begin two weeks to 50 days after exposure. Not everyone who is sick has symptoms. This illness is very contagious.
If you do not get a vaccination and have not been vaccinated against hepatitis A, monitor yourself for the symptoms of the illness. Most people recover within a week to two months, but some, especially those with chronic health problems and liver disease, become so ill they must be hospitalized.
