Second restaurant worker in Palm Beach County reported with case of Hepatitis A

A worker at a popular Palm Beach Gardens restaurant has tested positive for Hepatitis A, the second incident reported this week of the contagious liver disease in a food service employee.

The worker at Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant at 3101 PGA Blvd. may have exposed customers who visited between May 1–12, according to The Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County. Health officials say anyone who ate or drank at this restaurant during that time should watch for signs of the disease or get the Hepatitis A vaccination.

Symptoms includes sudden onset of abdominal discomfort, dark urine, fever, diarrhea, pale white stools, and yellow skin and eyes ( jaundice). People infected with Hepatitis A are most contagious from two weeks before onset of symptoms to one week afterwards. Symptoms usually start within 28 days of exposure to the virus with a range of 15-50 days.

On Monday, the Florida Department of Health Palm Beach warned customers of the Butcher Shop Beer Garden & Grill Restaurant at 209 Sixth St. in West Palm Beach that a food service worker has been diagnosed with Hepatitis A and may have exposed guests who visited the restaurant between April 10 and May 1.

The Hepatitis A virus is spread when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from other humans, objects, food or drinks that have been contaminated with small undetected amounts of stool from an infected person.

Florida has been struggling with an outbreak of Hepatitis that began in 2018 and has intensified. Already in 2019, Florida has 1,220 confirmed cases of Hepatitis A and health officials have stepped up vaccinations in the population most at risk — homeless persons and drug users. In South Florida, 40 cases are confirmed — Miami-Dade (10), Broward (15) and Palm Beach (15).

In recent weeks, at least a halfdozen Florida food service workers have tested positive for the virus, which can be spread through food or drinks touched by someone who is infected. Along with Palm Beach County, those workers are in Sarasota, Tampa, Clearwater and New Port Richey.

Carina Blackmore, Florida Department of Health’s state epidemiologist, said fewer than 5 percent of reported cases this year have been food workers. In addition, she said, “We have not identified any cases associated with this outbreak who have become sick from food handled by a Hepatitis A positive food handler.”