Customers Of Wilson Restaurant Urged To Get Hepatitis A Shots

Hepatitis A

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The county health department says that a server at the Applebee's restaurant on Forest Hills Road in Wilson was diagnosed with the disease on Monday.

Health department officials strongly recommend that anyone who ate inside the restaurant between Oct. 15 and Oct. 25 contact their localhealth department for further information and preventative treatment. They say that customers who ordered take-out are not affected.

The health department says that the server worked on the following days and times:

Applebee's spokeswoman Elizabeth McGee says health officials inspected the restaurant and declared it safe for customers.

"They should be 100 percent confident. We absolutely care very much about our customers and our restaurant and we would not be open if we didn't feel the restaurant is a safe environment," she said.

Free Immunizations:

The Wilson County Department of Public Health is offeringImmune Globulin Immunizations, the recommended choice of preventativetreatment, at its 1801 Glendale Drive location through next Thursday:

The immunization will be offered free of charge to anyone affected.

Applebee's is working closely with health department officials to prevent any possible further exposure to the generalpublic. In addition, the restaurant's management has arranged for thevaccination of their employees as an added precaution.

Hepatitis A is a common disease caused by a virus that affects the liver.

Symptoms:

Symptoms usually start with weakness, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, andabdominal discomfort. These symptoms are often followed by yellowing of the skin and eyes, coffee-colored urine and pale-colored bowel movements. Symptoms generally begin about two to six weeks after exposure.

The virus is spread from person-to-person when there is close personal contact. The virus is frequently spread due to poor hand washing after using the bathroom and before eating.