ASU food worker tests positive for hepatitis A

Arkansas State University in Jonesboro said Thursday that a food service employee at the university tested positive for the hepatitis A virus, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.

The report brought the number of reported hepatitis A cases to 178 statewide, with the majority in eastern Arkansas. Greene County has reported more than 80 cases while Craighead County, where ASU is located, has between 40 and 80 cases, according to the Department of Health website.

The employee worked for food service provider Sodexo at the Acansa Dining Hall in the Reng Student Center from Oct. 13 to Wednesday, according to Bill Smith, ASU’s associate vice chancellor for marketing and communications.

Sodexo reported the illness to the Department of Health on Wednesday.

“There’s no outbreak on our campus,” Smith said.

Anyone who thinks he might be at risk is encouraged to get the vaccine, which can prevent development even after a person is exposed to the disease, said Meg Mirivel, public information director for the Office of Health Communications.

“It is something for people to be aware of, and if they’re at risk, to be vaccinated,” Mirivel said.

ASU will host a walk-in vaccine clinic from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday for students, faculty and staff at the Reng Student Center.

Vaccines are available at county health units in the 13 counties that have reported cases of hepatitis A, Mirivel said.

Twelve states have experienced hepatitis A outbreaks since March 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Arkansas’ outbreak spread from Missouri, Mirivel said.

The hepatitis A vaccine became required for elementary school students in 2014, so eventually the illness will become even more uncommon, Mirivel said.

Typically, Arkansas has five to 10 cases a year.

“As it is right now, most adults have not been vaccinated for Hep A,” Mirivel said.

Hepatitis is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus that prompts inflammation and affects the liver’s ability to function, according to the Mayo Clinic website. Symptoms include sudden nausea as well as abdominal pain or discomfort.

Hepatitis A is usually spread when a person ingests the virus from objects, food or drinks that are contaminated by undetected amounts of stool from an infected person, according to the CDC.

Mirivel said it is important for people to wash their hands, because people become infectious before they experience symptoms.