LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - The Arkansas Department of Health is doing its best to contain recent hepatitis A breakouts in Clay County. Food servers are at the center of concerns.
Many viewers sent questions to 11 Listens about making sure food employees are safe and healthy.
As of now, the state has no requirements for restaurant workers to be vaccinated for hepatitis A.
(1) Identify, (2) contain and (3) protect the public are three rules ADH thinks has helped them get a hold on the virus quickly.
“We've got two issues, one is we've got individuals who've got hepatitis A,” said Dr. Gary Wheeler, Chief Medical Officer at ADH.
As of now, 13 cases of hepatitis A have been identified in the northeastern part of the state.
The Arkansas Department of Health revealed there have been several outbreaks around the country, but there are no clear reasons why.
“The second issue is five of these 13 people work in the food business. They either work in fast food or some food processing and that puts the general public at risk,” Wheeler said.
Most individuals get infected by eating food contaminated by people with active hepatitis who aren't washing their hands properly.
According to ADH, there haven't been any reports of secondary cases.
“Even though five of those people work in the food industry, they have not, to our knowledge, infected anyone else,” he added.
Flu-like symptoms are the main feature of this illness, but signs often don't show until three to four weeks after infection.
“It's usually the turning yellow that causes people to go to the doctor and get diagnosed. Most people who get hepatitis A are sick for weeks or even months, but they recover,” said Wheeler.
The small number of outbreaks is credited to hand hygiene and food preparation guidelines most restaurants follow.
“Even though someone might be sick with an infection that's highly infectious, if they follow procedures the risk of acquiring disease is much lower for people who eat in those places,” Wheeler said.
The Arkansas Restaurant Association urge that anyone preparing or serving food practice hand washing for safety.
The group offers eight hour certification classes to teach proper food handling and what causes foodborne illnesses.