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A Taco Bell employee in central Florida was tested positive for hepatitis A last month and likely exposed restaurant patrons to the disease during his infectious period, the health department said of Pinellas County.
The information was revealed in an email that the county health authorities sent to the state, according to a report.
The Department of Health later announced that the employee, who worked at the Tarpon Springs restaurant chain, had been infected at least April 12 and 14.
The agency opened a joint investigation and food safety inspection with the Hotel and Restaurant Division on April 17, reported WFTS-TV Tampa. It was not easy to find out how the agency learned about the employee's diagnosis.
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The inspectors who showed up at the Taco Bell discovered that the toilet sinks lacked hot water and that the soap dispenser in the men 's room was not working, according to the inspection report. Some employees did not wash their hands, according to the report.
Health officials warned that hepatitis A could spread when infected people handle food or touch surfaces without washing their hands, according to the report.
FILE: Travelers check out a menu at a Taco Bell restaurant located in Miami International Airport, Miami. (Associated Press)
Previously, the County of Pinellas Health Department had never informed the general public that an employee of Hellas Restaurant and Bakery, also located in Tarpon Springs, had been infected with hepatitis A in March, reported WFTS.
Pinellas County is the site of about one-third of reported hepatitis A cases in the Tampa Bay area, the report says. Cases discovered in other restaurants in the region have not been made public, according to the report.
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After the report, officials at Taco Bell's headquarters in Irvine, California, issued a statement claiming that the Tarpon Springs restaurant had been "completely cleaned up and all team members had been vaccinated" as a result the diagnosis of one of his employees.
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