|
A food service worker employed by the McDonald's restaurant in Milan
and diagnosed with hepatitis A was reported to have worked during
his or her infectious period and handled food items that were not
subsequently cooked. The Rock Island County Health Department,
with help from the Illinois Public Health Mutual Aid System, the
Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team and the Illinois Nurse
Volunteer Emergency Needs Team, will have clinics today and
tomorrow.
Clinics scheduled for hepatitis A response
When: Monday, July 20, and Tuesday, July 21
10 a.m.-6 p.m. each day
There will be additional clinics if needed.
Where: Rock Island High School
1400 25th Ave., Rock Island
What: Hepatitis A vaccinations and immune globulin will be
administered at no charge.
Who: Eligible recipients are those who meet the following
criteria: consumed food or beverages at McDonald's Restaurant in
Milan from July 6 through July 10 and July 13 and 14.
(People eating there on July 11 and 12 were not exposed.)
Those who consumed products from this restaurant during this time
period will receive either hepatitis A vaccine or immune
globulin, not both.
If a person has previously received two doses of hepatitis A
vaccine, no further immunization or immune globulin is necessary --
they are already protected from hepatitis A. In addition, if someone
has been ill in the past from hepatitis A, they would not become ill
from it again -- their body would have developed immunity. If a
person receives this vaccine or immune globulin more than 14 days
after they have eaten at Milan McDonald's, it may not provide
protection.
To date, local health departments have reported 18 confirmed
cases of hepatitis A to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Hepatitis A is a viral infection that causes inflammation of the
liver and occurs 15 to 50 days after exposure to an infected food
item or person. Symptoms may include loss of appetite, fatigue,
nausea, vomiting, dark-colored urine and yellowing of the skin or
the whites of the eyes. If you have these symptoms, contact your
doctor or a medical professional. However, people who are infected
with hepatitis A may have no symptoms but could still potentially
infect others.
[to top of second column] |
"Hepatitis A is a virus that can be carried on the hands of an
infected person who does not wash his or her hands thoroughly after
using the bathroom. You can become infected by direct contact with a
person who does not practice good hand hygiene or by consuming food
or drink handled by an infected person," Dr. Arnold said. "Your best
defense against getting ill or making others ill is to properly wash
your hands -- use soap and warm water and rub your hands for 20
seconds."
Assistance from local health departments for the hepatitis A
outbreak was requested through the Illinois Public Health Mutual Aid
System. The system was created in 2004 in an effort to strengthen
the public health system's ability to respond to an emergency. Any
local health department in Illinois that has signed a mutual aid
agreement in the system can request assistance from any other local
health department in Illinois that has signed the agreement.
"We are very fortunate to have a public health mutual aid system
in place in Illinois and to have conducted and participated in
full-scale exercises for large clinics in recent years," said Wendy
Trute, administrator of the Rock Island County Health Department.
"Because of this, RICHD has been able to put our pre-existing plans
into action in order to meet the public health needs of our
community quickly. We are very thankful for the outpouring of
additional help from agencies throughout the state of Illinois and
Rock Island County's community partners throughout the Quad Cities
during this hepatitis A outbreak."
In addition, approximately 25 nurses and support staff from the
Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team and the Illinois Nurse
Volunteer Emergency Needs Team are assisting in the administration
of vaccine and immune globulin. Both teams are volunteer
organizations with all levels of emergency medical personnel as well
as individuals with backgrounds in logistics, communications, safety
and information technologies. Their mission it is to respond to and
assist with emergency medical treatment during emergencies.
For additional information on hepatitis A, go to
www.idph.state.il.us.
[Text from
Illinois Department of Public Health
file received from the
Logan County Department
of Public Health] |
