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CHARLESTON, SC (FOX Carolina) – The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced Monday that people have eaten at Zaxby's at 4845 Tanger Outlet Blvd. in North Charleston may have been exposed to the hepatitis A virus.
DHEC stated that they had been informed on May 31, 2019 that a restaurant employee had tested positive for the hepatitis A virus. Customers who had eaten there between May 20 and 23 2019 could have been exposed to the virus.
DHEC is working with Zaxby to investigate possible exposures and provide advice on the preventative treatment of anyone who may be affected.
"The concern here is not the restaurant. That's with a food attendant who is suffering from hepatitis A, "said Dr. Linda Bell, a physician and state epidemiologist, in a press release.
Bell said that the risk of transmission of hepatitis A virus from an infected employee to restaurant guests is low but possible.
"As a precaution, in these situations, vaccination should be considered for people who have been exposed during the period when the food-processing agent was contagious," Bell said.
Bell advised that anyone who ate at the restaurant between May 20 and 23 should watch for the onset of infection symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or yellowing of the eyes and skin.
People usually develop symptoms within two to six weeks of exposure to the virus and should see a doctor if symptoms begin.
According to DHEC, hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus, but most people usually recover completely after several weeks of illness.
DHEC said in May that South Carolina was plagued by an epidemic of hepatitis A.
Previously – DHEC said that there was an outbreak of hepatitis A throughout the state of South Carolina.
Copyright 2019 FOX Carolina (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
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