A food worker of Dixie Depot Courtyard Lane deli, located at 6241 Highway 613 in Lucedale, Mississippi, has been diagnosed with hepatitis A, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health. Anyone who ate there during the following dates and times may have been exposed to the virus.
That employee was at the facility from August 19-21, 2019 from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm; from August 23-24, 2019 from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm; and from August 26-31, 2019 from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
MSDH State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said in a statement, “While the risk of transmission is likely low, the management and staff of Dixie Depot are cooperating with us to prevent new illnesses as a result of this exposure. We recommend that anyone who ate at this restaurant during these times should consider getting a hepatitis A vaccination if they have not been previously immunized.”
Anyone who thinks they may have bee exposed can receive a hepatitis A vaccination free of charge at the George County Health Department at 166 West Ratliff Street in Lucedale. The days that a vaccine is available are September 11, 12, and 13, 2019.
Unfortunately, this vaccine is only effective if given within two weeks of exposure. That means that anyone who ate at Dixie Depot Courtyard Lane deli before August 28, 2019 is probably not a candidate for vaccination. Talk to your doctor about this exposure.
People who do not qualify for the vaccine should monitor themselves for the symptoms of hepatitis A, which include fever, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, dark colored urine, clay colored stools, and jaundice. These symptoms usually start 15 to 50 days after infection. And during the first two weeks a person is infected, there are no symptoms, but that person is contagious.
There is an ongoing hepatitis A outbreak in Mississippi and the surrounding states, and in fact in 30 states in this country, that has sickened thousands. Officials in those states have declared public health emergencies. Public health officials recommend getting the vaccine even if you haven’t been exposed to the virus.
