A hepatitis A outbreak has sickened 23 people after they visited the Mendham Golf and Tennis Club in Mendham Township, New Jersey. This is a members only club. A food handler was diagnosed with hepatitis A and worked at the club while infectious. One person is “seriously ill,” according to the press release by the New Jersey Department of Health.
The food handler was excluded from work, and the remaining workers were reviewed for vaccination and proof of immunity from the virus. Close contacts of the food handler were given vaccinations.
MGTC notified their members of the risk on July 5, 2019. That notification advices the members to inform anyone who ate with them at the club, and told them to get vaccinations. The food worker was at the club from June 9 and June 30, 2019.
Unfortunately, it’s much too late for anyone who was not informed about this outbreak to get a hepatitis A or immune globulin vaccination, since those shots are effective when given with two weeks of exposure to the pathogen. Hepatitis A is spread through person-to-person contact, through contact with contaminated surfaces, and also through contaminated food and beverages.
Anyone who ate at that venue during the time the infectious food workers was there should monitor themselves for the symptoms of hepatitis A, which can appear 15 to 50 days after exposure. Those symptoms include loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and discomfort, especially on the upper right side by the abdomen, clay-colored bowel movements, dark urine, low grade fever, joint pain, and jaundice, which is yellowing of the skin and eyes.
If you dined at that club and have been experiencing these symptoms, see your doctor. Hepatitis A is very contagious, especially in the first two weeks of infection when no symptoms are apparent. Anyone who works with the public should be vaccinated against this virus.
