An employee at the Outback Steakhouse Restaurant Rivergate at 1560 Gallatin Pike North in Madison, Tennessee has been diagnosed with acute hepatitis A. That person worked at the restaurant while he had symptoms December 22 to December 24, 2018. The Metro Public Health Department announced this in a press release. Madison is near Nashville.
A special clinic to offer free vaccinations will be open at the Lentz Public Health Center at 2500 Charlotte Avenue in Nashville to anyone who dined at that location on those dates. You have until January 7, 2019 to be vaccinated. The clinic hours will be January 3 from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm; January 8 from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm; January 5 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, and January 7 from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
The vaccinations are only effective if given within two weeks of exposure. That means that anyone who was exposed on December 22, 2018 has until January 5 2019 to get a shot. Anyone who December 23, 2018 will have until January 6, 2019; and anyone who was exposed on December 24, 2018 will have until January 7, 2018 to get vaccinated. After that time frame all you can do is wait to see if symptoms appear.
There is a hepatitis A outbreak in Nashville. Since December 2017, 161 cases of hepatitis A have been confirmed by public health officials in that city. Almost 9,000 people have been vaccinated since the outbreak was first announced in late May, 2018.
The symptoms of hepatitis A include dark urine, clay colored stools, stomach and abdominal pain, nausea, decried appetite, joint pain, and jaundice. These symptoms appear 15 to 50 days after exposure to the virus. The hepatitis A virus is very contagious. People get sick after touching contaminated surfaces, or eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated.
The best way to prevent this disease is to get vaccinated. Washing your hands after using the bathroom and taking care of someone who is ill is also critical.
