534 vaccinated who may have been exposed to hepatitis at diner
Thursday, 04/21/05
Associated Press
CLINTON, Tenn. -- East Tennessee health workers gave vaccinations to 534 people who might have been exposed to hepatitis A while dining at a Waffle House restaurant.
The shots of immune serum globulin were advised for about 5,000 people who had eaten at the Clinton Waffle House between April 5 and 15 and began being administered at a special emergency clinic that opened Tuesday afternoon and runs through today.
State health officials have confirmed 17 hepatitis A cases in Campbell, Scott and Anderson counties. One of those who became ill is an employee of the Clinton Waffle House, and two people were sick enough to be hospitalized.
The source of the outbreak hasn't been found, though officials suspect that it may have originated at a different restaurant in LaFollette.
But because the Waffle House food server has contracted the viral liver disease, people who consumed uncooked food or iced beverages at the restaurant during the two-week period were asked to get shots.
The East Tennessee Regional Health Office prepared 5,000 doses of serum for the clinic at the National Guard Armory in Clinton, about 13 miles northwest of Knoxville. Officials will decide if more is needed after today.
''We got this all together in a matter of hours,'' Anderson County Health Department Director Art Miller said. ''I'm really pleased that our emergency plan works.'' Health department offices in Clinton and Oak Ridge are closed through today to allow workers to staff the clinic.
Anderson County Courthouse employee Jessica Owens said she learned that she might be at risk when word raced through the building Tuesday morning.
''It's not really something you'd want to hear,'' she said.
Lake City residents Jim and Jodie Woodward and their 8-year-old grandson, Jamie, ate at the Waffle House on April 8 and were among the first to receive shots Tuesday.
Jamie's father, Jimmy Woodward, didn't eat with them that day, but he said he received a shot anyway to show his son that it wasn't so bad. ''I took a sympathy shot,'' he said.
Hepatitis A symptoms include mild fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tiredness, dark urine and jaundice. It can be spread by poor hygiene and being in contact with someone who has the disease.
