A food worker at Ashiya Teriyaki, located at 1233 164th Street Southwest in Lynnwood, Washington, has been diagnosed with hepatitis A. The Snohomish Health District closed the restaurant on August 15, 2019. Anyone who ate at that venue between August 2 and August 15, 2019 may have been exposed to the virus. Officials say that this case doesn’t seem to be linked to the hepatitis A outbreak in Washington state.
Unfortunately, it’s too late for anyone who ate at Ashiya Teriyaki before August 6, 2019 to receive an immune globulin or hepatitis A vaccination, since those vaccines are only effective if given within two weeks of exposure. Those people should watch for the symptoms of hepatitis A and contact their doctor if they get sick. All other clients should contact their doctors for information about vaccinations.
Those symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dark urine, clay-colored stools, pain in the upper right quadrant of the abdominal, dark urine, and jaundice. While most people do recover from this infection on their own, some can become sick enough to be hospitalized. People with liver disease and those with compromised immune systems generally are the sickest when they contract this illness.
If you think you got sick after eating at this restaurant, contact the Communicable Disease Surveillance line at 425-339-5278. The District is working with restaurant management to discard all food and to make sure the facility is thoroughly cleaned.
To help prevent the spread of this illness, people who work with the public, including restaurant workers, those in the health care industry, and those who work in schools, should consider getting vaccinated. Other ways to prevent this illness include thorough handwashing after using the bathroom and before preparing and serving food. People should also stay home from school or work if they are sick, especially if they have a diarrheal illness.
