Massachusetts restaurant customers potentially exposed to hepatitis A, health officials warn

By Riley Rourke, Logan Hall

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    PROVINCETOWN, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Health officials are warning customers who dined at The Red Inn in Provincetown to get checked for hepatitis A due to a potential exposure from a worker at the restaurant.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said that anyone who ate at the restaurant between April 30 and May 15 should talk to their doctor as soon as possible. The employee, who tested positive, could’ve exposed customers between those dates.

If you think you were exposed to hepatitis A, your doctor may be able to provide a preventative treatment if you are within two weeks of being exposed and haven’t developed symptoms. Preventive treatment includes the hepatitis A immune globulin and vaccine.

Anyone aged 34 years or younger may have been vaccinated for the disease.

“It makes sense for people to get vaccinated for hepatitis A. Our hepatitis A vaccine is one of the safest and most effective vaccines that we have,” clinical director of infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Paul Sax, says.

Owner says restaurant is cleared for service:

The owner of the restaurant said that they take these things very seriously.

“This is something that happened two weeks ago, so right now our place is cleared for work.We are very vigilant on making sure that we wash our hands, we take care of things, and you know, if someone’s sick, we take care of them,” the owner of The Red Inn, Philip Mossy, said.

“Being from southern California, we have a rating system, ABC, for people that are checking on restaurant quality, but I’m kind of surprised Massachusetts doesn’t have a rating,” visitor Brian Stevens said.

“When you go to a restaurant, you expect quality food from a restaurant. And if they’re serving food that’s contaminated. It’s really devastating to the people that are consuming it,” visitor Loni Brockett said.

But customers of the Red Inn were not phased by the news.

“Red Inn is a beautiful staple that I come to a few times a year. It’s a really nice place,” one woman said.

What are the symptoms of Hepatitis A?

These are the symptoms to look out for, according to health officials:

– Fever

– Fatigue

– Nausea and loss of appetite

– Vomiting

– Diarrhea

– Jaundice

Symptoms typically can clear within two weeks, but severe cases can last anywhere from four to six weeks or longer. Anyone who is infected is highly contagious and can easily spread through food and drinks as well as close contact.

“It’s not the kind of illness like a typical food poisoning where you’re sick for one or two days, then you’re back to normal within a week. Usually, people with hepatitis A, at least the people who get diagnosed, are out for two to three weeks, sometimes longer,” Dr. Sax said.

It is recommended that if you have hepatitis A, you should vigorously wash your hands, wrists, between fingers, and under fingernails before handling any food and after using the bathroom.

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