LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) – A hepatitis A case has been confirmed in a restaurant worker in Lexington.
According to officials with the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, a worker at the Frisch’s Big Boy on Harrodsburg Road was diagnosed with the illness.
Customers who ate at the restaurant from Oct. 10-28, 2018, may have been exposed to the hepatitis A virus and are advised to get a vaccination.
Hepatitis A is a viral infection of the liver that can cause loss of appetite, nausea, tiredness, fever,
stomach pain, brown-colored urine, and light-colored stools. Yellowing of the skin or eyes may
also appear. People may have some or none of these symptoms. It could take up to seven weeks
after being exposed to the virus for someone to become ill.
Transmission between food workers and restaurant clients is rare, due to stringent hand-washing standards.
The ill person is not currently working at the restaurant and the health department says they will remain off work until cleared to return. The Environmental Health staff has worked with the restaurant to ensure proper cleaning of the facility.
The health department will be working with Frisch’s at this location to provide hepatitis A vaccinations for their employees.
