| A worker at the McDonald's in question was diagnosed with Hep A on June 9 (and would have been contagious long before that) but the disease was not reported to the health department until July 10. This was the first of two workers at the McDonald's who tested positive for the disease.
The timing of the diagnosis and reporting is critical because the spread of the disease can be halted most effectively if those who were exposed get vaccinations within 14 days after they were exposed. In other words, the month lag time in reporting this case was not a good thing. The Rock Island County Health Department is offering vaccinations to people who ate at the McDonald's during certain dates.
Hepatitis A Basics
Hepatologists are liver specialists, so it makes perfect sense that hepatitis is a disease of the liver.
From Marler's blog:
Hepatitis A is one of five human hepatitis viruses (hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E) that primarily infect the liver and cause illness. An estimated 80,000 cases occur each year in the U.S., although much higher estimates have been proposed based on mathematical modeling of the past incidence of infection. Each year, an estimated 100 persons die as a result of acute liver failure in the U.S. due to hepatitis A, but the rate of infection has dramatically decreased since the hepatitis A vaccine was licensed and became available in the U.S. in 1995.
Hepatitis A is a communicable (or contagious) disease that spreads from person-to-person. It is spread almost exclusively through fecal-oral contact, generally from person-to-person, or via contaminated food or water. Food contaminated with the virus is the most common vehicle transmitting hepatitis A. The food preparer or cook is the individual most often contaminating the food, although he or she is generally not ill at the time of food preparation. The peak time of infectivity, when the most viruses are present in the stool of an infectious individual, is during the two weeks before illness begins. Although only a small percentage of hepatitis A infections are associated with foodborne transmission, foodborne outbreaks have been increasingly implicated as a significant source of hepatitis A infection.
While Americans typically get Hep B vaccines, the Hep A vaccine is a bit less common. I got the Hep A vaccine in preparation for a trip to China 9 years ago. It's a 2-shot series. Given how easy it is to get a few shots (provided you have health insurance, that is), I think it's worth it. I don't think most Americans expect to have a widespread problem with, um, fecal-oral contact. China, on the other hand, is famous for its historic use of nightsoil as fertilizer. Not a bad idea to get your vaccine before going there, just in case. Not a bad idea to get the vaccine if you live here, either!
In another post, Marler quotes a Hepatitis info website, saying:
Symptoms typically begin about 28 days after contracting the hepatitis A virus, but can begin as early as 15 days or as late as 50 days after exposure (Koff, 1998), and include muscle aches, headache, anorexia (loss of appetite), abdominal discomfort, fever, and malaise. After a few days of the aforementioned symptoms, jaundice (also termed "icterus") sets in...
After a known exposure to the hepatitis A virus, administration of a shot of Immune Globulin (IG) should be considered. IG is 80%-90% effective in preventing hepatitis A infection if it is administered within 2 weeks of the exposure. |
