Officials: Charlotte Papa John's To Blame For Hepatitis Outbreak

[Pardus]

http://www.wfmynews2.com/story/news...atitis-outbreak-papa-johns-charlotte/7587171/

HARLOTTE, N.C. (WCNC) -- A Papa John's location in Charlotte is to blame for a local health issue, according to the Mecklenburg County Health Department.

Officials are looking into a Hepatitis A outbreak they say stemmed from the Papa John's location in the 8000 block of Cambridge Commons Drive in Charlotte. This is near Harrisburg Road and I-485.

The incident started with a manager at that restaurant, who recently traveled out of the country.

Anyone who ate food from the location on or between March 24 and April 7 may have been exposed. About 2,400 people could have been sickened by this. Zero cases have been reported thus far, excluding the manager.

According to the CDC, Hepatitis A is a liver disease that results from an infection with the Hepatitis A virus. It is spread by close personal contact or consuming contaminated food or water.

Symptoms are flu-like, and may show up as gastrointestinal issues, dark urine, diarrhea, severe stomach pains and jaundice.

Clinics have been established at the Cabarrus County Health Department and Mecklenburg County Health Department on Beatties Ford Road. They will be open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Five-thousand vaccines have been ordered and they are free. The vaccine will work within 14 days of exposure.

People who ate food from the location on March 28 and 29 should get the vaccine immediately. Others can be vaccinated at later free clinics that will be announced in the coming days.

If you are already experiencing symptoms of Hepatitis A, you should call your doctor immediately.

Papa John's was open Thursday night and serving food. According to the Health Department and a corporate spokesperson, the restaurant was sanitized from top to bottom Wednesday night. They stated only employees who had either already been tested for Hepatitis A or had not come in contact with the infected manager were allowed to work at this point.

 

[waggy]

oh boy...

 

[techs]

Is Papa Johns the company that complained about Obamacare?

 

[JulesMaximus]

I fucking hate Papa John's pizza.

 

[Jimzz]

Good thing they offer good affordable health insurance to their employees since employee and customer safety/well being is very important to papjohns. /s

 

[CPA]

Is Papa Johns the company that complained about Obamacare?

And if they were?

 

[CPA]

Good thing they offer good affordable health insurance to their employees since employee and customer safety/well being is very important to papjohns. /s

What does going out of the country and contracting a disease have anything to do with affordable health insurance?

 

[Jimzz]

What does going out of the country and contracting a disease have anything to do with affordable health insurance?

And how would someone that does not have heath insurance contact "their doctor" let alone be able to afford it? They can't; so they go back to work with their illness.

 

[darkxshade]

Better ingredients, better diseases, Papa Johns!

 

[T_Yamamoto]

We only buy from there when there's a bogo or 50% off deal

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

This is sad news. What's even sadder is that some people manage to construe that it is Papa Johns fault. While they take responsibility, they are as much victims as anyone exposed.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

So one person is an outbreak now? Big difference between exposure risk and an outbreak of disease.

 

[Ventanni]

Papa Johns isn't at fault for the spread of the disease. Replace "Hepatitis A" with "Common Cold" and you have the story of every work environment throughout history. But at the same time, lemme guess, this guy used his "sick days" as regular days off, right? And when it came time that he was actually sick, he had to come to work, ruining it for the others.

 

[edro]

Sooo... the manager makes food with open sores on his hands?
And the outbreak is 1 person?!

I don't understand this story at all.

 

[techs]

This is sad news. What's even sadder is that some people manage to construe that it is Papa Johns fault. While they take responsibility, they are as much victims as anyone exposed.

Not necessarily. Food safety prep can prevent Hep A and also employee health.
iirc

So, it may be Papa Johns fault.

 

[AnMig]

Hep a is transmitted oro-fecal, so proper food handling hand washing should prevent this.

Also hep a is not that bad it does not usually cause chronic liver issues like hep c or hep b.

I think its blown out of proportion.

Peace

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Not necessarily. Food safety prep can prevent Hep A and also employee health.
iirc

So, it may be Papa Johns fault.

You are incorrect. HEP A can be transmitted through "close personal contact ." No 'best practices ' will prevent that and, if you knew a person had been exposed to HEP A they wouldn't be working in the first place.

 

[techs]

You are incorrect. HEP A can be transmitted through "close personal contact ." No 'best practices ' will prevent that and, if you knew a person had been exposed to HEP A they wouldn't be working in the first place.

But people can be infected with Hep A and not know it without a doctors exam, so I think that part is correct as having health insurance would mean food workers find out if they have hep a.

 

[Printer Bandit]

garlic hepatitis sauce, yum !

 

[techs]

Considering the quality of worker fast food joints hire I'm surprised their hasn't been an Ebola outbreak yet.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

But people can be infected with Hep A and not know it without a doctors exam, so I think that part is correct as having health insurance would mean food workers find out if they have hep a.

You wouldn't know unless you saw a doctor and they did a test. People aren't likely to go to a doctor without symptoms, whether or not they have insurance. Hep A has an incubation period of two to six weeks. That's a lot of potential exposure. Health insurance, best practices and, communication help but, are poor preventive measures, they're just the best we've got.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Considering the quality of worker fast food joints hire I'm surprised their hasn't been an Ebola outbreak yet.

People tend to forget, food is inherently healthy.

 

[techs]

People tend to forget, food is inherently healthy.

Well, everyone who eats it eventually dies, so your right.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Well, everyone who eats it eventually dies, so your right.

Everyone who doesn't, dies sooner.