People who ate at the Cookery restaurant in the Flying J truck stop at Interstate 85/I-40 and Jimmy Kerr Road near Burlington, N.C., between Nov. 10 and Dec. 3 may have been exposed to hepatitis-A, according to the Alamance County, N.C., Health Department.
The department was notified Dec. 7 that a food handler at the restaurant had the illness. A second employee is also suspected of having hepatitis. The restaurant is working with the department to control the spread of the disease.
People who ate at the Cookery between Nov. 10 and Dec. 3 are advised by the Alamance County Health Department to seek medical attention. Those recently exposed to the disease may be treated with immune globulin, which helps prevent infection.
The symptoms of hepatitis include mild fever, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools and yellowing of the skin or eyes. Symptoms generally appear two to seven weeks after exposure. People with these symptoms should consult a doctor.
The health department said the best way to limit further spread of the illness is careful hand-washing after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before preparing food.
For more information, contact Alice Rich at the Alamance County Health Department, 336-513-5535.
