Gino’s Restaurant in West Norriton was closed on January 7, but officials have not confirmed the restaurant to be the source of the outbreak.
More than 12 hepatitis A cases are currently under investigation and seven people are still in the hospital. A total of three people have died due to the outbreak.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health provided this information on hepatitis A:
“Hepatitis A is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable, liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV) ranging in severity from mild infection lasting a few weeks to severe disease lasting several months. Hepatitis A usually spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food, or drinks contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool from an infected person. Hepatitis A can also spread from close personal contact with an infected person such as through sex or caring for someone who is ill.”
Signs and symptoms of hepatitis A can include the following:
- Clay-colored bowel movement
- Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)
This is the latest hepatitis A warning from health officials in the Delaware Valley in recent years.
In November, a Starbucks in Camden County, New Jersey was the center of a hepatitis A investigation.
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