September 19, 2006

Ontario Inland Valley Bulletin (CA)

Joe Blackstock

POMONA — Individuals who ate at a north Pomona restaurant in August are being urged by county officials to get tested for acute Hepatitis A if they suffer from symptoms of the disease.
Three patrons, who ate at the Senor Baja eatery at 320 E. Foothill Blvd. in August, were diagnosed in recent weeks with that disease, according to a press release from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
The business remains open after the department’s environmental health staff inspected it and found no source of potential infection for hepatitis. The restaurant’s management is working with the county to find the source of the problem, according to the release.
The county said the incubation period of Hepatitis A is from two to seven weeks. As a result, patrons of the restaurant in August should be on the watch until Oct. 1 for symptoms that include jaundice (yellow eyes or skin), fever and chills accompanied abdominal pain or vomiting, and/or light-color stool or dark urine. The virus is spread close contact or fecal contamination of food or drink. The close contact can be through household or sexual partners. The press release indicated that people who have been vaccinated against hepatitis are not at risk of acquiring it.