SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - A health alert today from the Salt Lake Valley Health Department: Customers at one Quiznos restaurant may have been exposed to Hepatitis A.
The restaurant is located at 30 East Broadway in downtown Salt Lake.
A food handler there was diagnosed with the disease.
The health department says anyone who ate at the Quiznos between July 27 and August 7 may have been exposed.
However, only those who ate there on the last two days of exposure (August 6,7) are still eligible to receive the vaccine for Hepatitis A. For everyone else, too much time has passed for the vaccine to prevent the disease. "You have a very limited time to prevent illness," explained Epidemiologist Bureau Manger Ilene Risk . "However, those people need to be aware of symptoms that occur with Hepatitis A and if they have those symptoms they need to see their healthcare provider.:"
Symptoms include fever, nausea, abdominal pain, extreme fatigue, dark colored urine and sometimes even jaundice.
The good news for those who can't get the vaccine, the symptoms are often moderate to mild and only occasionally require a stay in the hospital. Risk said, "The long term concerns are very minimal. Usually people fully recover. And once you've had Hep A you're not at risk of getting it again."
For those who can get the vaccine, more good news. Quiznos will pick up the tab for the first shot in the 2-shot series. (The 2nd shot is given six-months after the 1st.)
Most insurance carriers will pay for the second shot, which costs about $37.
As for the Quiznos at 30 East Broadway, even more good news. Risk said it was inspected just today and everything is now okay.
For more information:
Quiznos Customer Hotline:
877-306-4545 (8:00am - 8:00pm)
People who have questions regarding exposure to Hepatitis A and inoculations: SLVHD Hotline:
801-743-7280Or
click here for the health department's website.
