November 16, 2004
MINEOLA, N.Y. — Patrons of a Long Island restaurant may have been exposed to hepatitis A.
The Nassau County Department of Health says the restaurant, Villa Leone, of New Hyde Park, has reported that one of their food workers had hepatitis A last month.
The health department says all patrons of Villa Leone during the month of October may be at risk for contracting hepatitis A. Symptoms usually surface about three to four weeks after exposure and include fatigue, poor appetite, fever and vomiting. Not everyone who is infected will have all the symptoms.
Some people can transmit the disease before symptoms occur, so health officials advise everyone to carefully wash their hands after using the bathroom and before food preparation.
There are no medicines that can be used to treat a person once the symptoms of hepatitis A appear. The disease is rarely fatal and most people recover in a few weeks without complications.