Anyone who ate or drank at the Sleepy Hollow County Club in Westchester county, New York may have been exposed to hepatitis A. Officials are recommending that anyone who visited that facility between October 31 and November 4, 2017 get preventative treatment against this virus.
Officials learned on November 13, 2017 that an employee with the illness worked in the club’s Grill Room while infectious. The greatest risk is for those who visited the Grill Room, but the health department recommends preventive treatment for anyone who visited the country club on those dates.
That person was apparently infected by one of the five people who were sickened by an ill employee at bartaco in Port Chester in late October. This illustrates how this virus can spread quickly through a community.
The health department is offering free shots at the county clinic at 134 Court Street or anyone who ate or drank at Sleepy Hollow Country Club during the period mentioned above. The clinics will be held Tuesday, November 14 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (for those who dined October 31 through November 4) ; Wednesday, November 15, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am (for those who dined November 1 through November 4); Thursday, November 16, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am (for those who dined November 2 through November 4); and Friday, November 17, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm (for those who dined November 3 through November 4).
In addition, Phelps Hospital will offer free preventative treatment today through Friday, November 17. Visit that hospital’s web site for dates and times that you can get an immune globulin or hepatitis A vaccination. The hotline for this event is 914-366-3780. Phelps Hospital hosted their annual gala at Sleepy Hollow on November 3; shots are free of charge for all of the gala attendees.
These vaccinations are only effective if given within two weeks of exposure. That means anyone who visited that facility on October 31, 2017 needs to be vaccinated today. Anyone who was at the club on November 1 needs to get a shot by November 15, and so on.
Dr. Sherlita Amler, Commissioner of Health said in a statement, “Hepatitis A is generally a mild illness whose symptoms include fatigue, fever, poor appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dark urine, light colored stool and jaundice, which is the yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. There are no special medications used to treat a person once symptoms appear, but hepatitis A transmission to others can be prevented through proper hand washing.”
