Restaurant not source of hepatitis A outbreak
April 25, 2005
KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- The East Tennessee Regional Health Department says Monday that its investigation of the recent hepatitis A outbreak wasn't able to identify a restaurant as the likely source.
Health officials say over the past weekend they conducted 98 interviews that included people with the virus, food service workers and people chosen at random who weren't sick.
The interviewers asked questions about travel, group functions with food, schools, daycares, healthcare exposures, sharing food, drug use and eating out.
In a press release Monday, the director of the Regional Health Department, Dr. Paul Erwin, says the findings mean "...that there was not any single event or place that put the larger public at risk of getting hepatitis A."
Erwin goes on to say the weekend interviews "did not identify any current risk to the public in terms of an ongoing source of hepatitis A."
Before the announcement Monday, some Campbell County restaurant owners were sizzling. Lunchtime hasn't been so crowded lately at Goins' Restaurant. "How long does it take to run tests?," manager Rita Jordan says. "I think they know. They just don't want to say and I feel like as citizens, we have a right to know."
Goins wasn't part of the investigation and may now be the cleanest restaurant in town. Yet the customers are staying away.
The health department didn't want to name the restaurants it was investigating for fear of hurting business. However, Jordan says that by holding back that information, it hurt the bottom line from staff to suppliers.
"If they can't pinpoint any one restaurant, why not go around to all of the restaurants and check them?" Jordan says. "Come on give everybody a clean bill of health. Why just let people spread rumors and ruin everyone's business?"
The latest case was confirmed in East Tennessee Friday, for a total of 18. A clinic wrapped up last week, vaccinating at least 1,200 people who ate at a Waffle House in Clinton. A worker there tested positive for the virus.
The outbreak began in Campbell County two weeks ago. The 18 confirmed cases are spread between Campbell, Anderson and Scott Counties.
The symptoms of hepatitis A include abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea and diarrhea. People with the virus usually experience extreme fatigue, to the point where they don't want to get out of bed, along with a high fever. Doctors say jaundice is the most notable sign of the virus.
It usually takes around 30 days between the time that a person gets infected with hepatitis A and when they become sick.
Health officials continue to stress good hygiene as a way to prevent the spread of hepatitis A. They recommend washing your hands thoroughly after using the bathroom, before preparing food and after eating. Also, don't share cigarettes or eat after someone else.
