An employee at the Subway restaurant at 121 Highway 463 North in Trumann, Arkansas, has been diagnosed with hepatitis A according to the Arkansas Health Department. Anyone who ate there between January 23, 2019 and February 6, 2019 should get a vaccination as soon as possible if they have never had this illness or have not been vaccinated.
Unfortunately, those vaccines, which include the hepatitis A and immune globulin vaccinations, are only effective if given within two weeks of exposure. That means that anyone who ate at that facility January 23 to January 25, 2019 is out of that time period.
All those people can do is monitor their health for symptoms of this viral illness. Those symptoms include dark urine, lethargy and fatigue, weight loss, abdominal pain, clay-colored bowel movements, joins pain, fever, loss of appetite, and jaundice, which is yellowing of the eyes and skin. Symptoms usually begin 15 to 50 days after exposure.
The Arkansas Health Department is offering vaccines at a clinic on February 12 and 13, 2019, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in the Poinsett County Health Unit – Trumann at 1204 West Main Street in Trumann. The vaccinations will be provided to the public at no cost. Bring your insurance card and driver’s license if y9ou have one.
The risk of getting hepatitis A in a food service setting is low, but real. There is a hepatitis A outbreak in Northeast Arkansas, with 276 cases and three deaths reported since February 2018.
Anyone who is infected with this virus can transmit it up to two weeks before symptoms start and up to one week after, so the person may not even know they have it. And some people don’t have any symptoms at all.
Most people recover without any lasting complications, although they may feel ill for months. People with diabetes, other chronic illnesses, and liver disease are more likely to have serious complications from this illness.
