As of yesterday, the county health department in Salt Lake City, UT has referred 256 patients to get a preventative hepatitis A injection after possible exposure at a 7/11 convenience store. Health officials in the county are warning citizens that they could be at risk of exposure if they used the restroom or consumed certain food items at the West Jordan location, according to CNN.
This particular outbreak is believed to be the latest incident in a wider one that's been ongoing since August. "The possible hepatitis A exposure occurred when an infected employee worked while ill and potentially handled certain items in the store," Salt Lake County Health Department told CNN. Yikes.
While "sanitary" isn't exactly the first word that comes to mind when you think of 7/11, an outbreak like this is highly preventable and wouldn't be at the forefront of a customer's mind. "This is an important reminder to food service establishments that they should consider vaccinating their food-handling employees against hepatitis A," said Salt Lake County Health Department Executive Director Gary Edwards. Seriously, though, it's 2018 and people still aren't washing their hands in food service environments?
The CDC cautions that symptoms for hepatitis A, which include nausea, vomiting, fever, and fatigue, can take anywhere from 15 to 50 days to appear, so dear lord, get vaccinated if you think you've been exposed.
