January 2007

This is the third reported incident of Hepatitis A in a food service worker in the last two week – Arizona, Illinois and now Rhode Island.

Providence Journal

The Health Department is giving shots to 320 employees of the Cheesecake Factory in Providence and the Texas Roadhouse in Cranston after a busboy who worked at both restaurants was found to be infected with hepatitis A.

The busboy apparently picked up the virus, which affects the liver, on a trip to South America. Health officials are convinced that he did not have an opportunity to pass the infection to patrons. He cleared tables and did not handle food.

But his co-workers could have caught the bug from him, so the Health Department is offering injections of immune globulin to all the workers at both restaurants. The injections infuse antibodies against hepatitis A into the body and prevent illness.Continue Reading Workers to get Hepatitis A shots

CHICAGO, IL (January 25, 2007) — A class action lawsuit will be filed tomorrow against Houlihan’s, the Geneva, Illinois, restaurant where a food worker was diagnosed with hepatitis A. The lawsuit will be filed in Kane County Circuit Court on behalf of named plaintiff Rebecca Johnson, a Geneva, resident who dined at Houlihan’s with her family on January 19, 2007, and all other persons who were exposed to the hepatitis A virus at Houlihan’s between January 8 and January 19, and were forced to receive Immune Globulin shots to prevent becoming ill with hepatitis A. The lawsuit will be brought by Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm that has represented thousands of victims of foodborne illness outbreaks, and James P. Crawley, a respected Chicago attorney.

According to health officials, at least 3,000 people ate at the Houlihan’s restaurant located at 1332 Commons Drive in Geneva between January 8 and January 19, when the infected individual was working. The Kane County Health Department inoculated 2,060 individuals against hepatitis A on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week, and stressed that those patrons who had consumed iced beverages were most at risk for infection. 

“Filing a class action makes sense in that people who received shots had similar injuries,” said William Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark. According to the lawsuit, class members will seek damages including lost wages, medical and travel expenses, and emotional distress related to the fear of becoming infected with the hepatitis A virus. Continue Reading Class Action Lawsuit to be Filed Against Houlihan’s Friday

More than 600 people who dined at Houlihan’s Restaurant in Geneva this month have received shots to protect against infection after an employee was diagnosed with hepatitis “A.”

The Kane County Health Department is offering the immune globulin shots for free to anyone who ate at the restaurant between January Eighth and the 19th.  The…

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…

1. CDC Viral Hepatitis – Features facts heets, links, news releases, surveillance, and vaccination information.
www.cdc.gov/NCIDOD/diseases/hepatitis/a/index.htm

2. US FDA/CFSAN – Bad Bug Book – Hepatitis A Virus
Clinical research compiled by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, includes symptoms, diagnosis, associated foods.
www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap31.html

3. MedlinePlus: Hepatitis A – Directory of articles, factsheets, and…