A barbecue restaurant in Paragould on Monday became the seventh restaurant since February where a worker's diagnosis with hepatitis A prompted the state Department of Health to issue an alert.
People who ate at Ironhorse Barbeque & Steakhouse from July 25 through Friday should seek vaccination immediately if they have never been immunized against hepatitis A or don't know whether they have been, the department said in a news release.
The department has also urged all Greene County residents ages 19-60 to get vaccinated amid an outbreak of the disease in northeast Arkansas that has resulted in 85 infections and one death.
The vaccine will be available in Paragould from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. today at the Greene County Health Unit at 801 Goldsmith Road, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Paragould Community Center at 3404 Linwood Drive, and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Eastside Baptist Church at 529 E. Court St.
People will not have to pay out of pocket for the vaccine, but should bring their insurance card and driver's license, if they have one, the department said.
The other alerts this year included two last week. One of those concerned a Little Caesars Pizza at 1731 W. Kingshighway in Paragould, and the other a Red Lobster at 7401 Rogers Ave. in Fort Smith.
Unlike the other restaurant-related cases this year, the one in Fort Smith appeared to be related to out-of-state travel and not the outbreak in northeast Arkansas, the department said.
The department recommended vaccination for people who ate at the Little Caesars from July 19-Aug. 2 or at the Red Lobster from July 19-Aug. 4.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Arkansas' outbreak is one of several across the country that have affected primarily drug users and homeless people.
The disease affects the liver and is typically spread when a person ingests small amounts of fecal matter. Although a person may feel sick for months, most people recover completely and will not have any lasting liver damage, the department said.
Typical symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay-colored bowel movements, joint pain or jaundice.
State Epidemiolgist Dirk Haselow said in the news release that Ironhorse Barbeque had encouraged its employees to get vaccinated even before the employee was diagnosed.
Because of sanitation practices, the risk of getting the disease from eating at a restaurant is low, he added.
Metro on 08/14/2018