An individual with hepatitis A may have handled food at Shalom Community Center sometime between Dec. 13 and Dec. 24, Monroe County Health Department said Friday.
People who ate at the Shalom Center during this time are at risk of infection, and the Monroe County Health Department recommends they get vaccinated.
Free vaccinations will be offered 8:15 to 11:15 a.m. Jan. 2 at the Monroe County Public Health Clinic and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 4 at the Shalom Center, the release said.
In a press release, the Shalom Center said it believes the infected individual was a guest and not a volunteer, meaning the person did not handle food. Still, the Shalom Center cleaned its kitchens, is temporarily prohibiting at-risk, unvaccinated people from volunteering and is hosting the vaccine clinic Jan. 4.
A hepatitis A infection can show up within 50 days of exposure. The Monroe County Health Department release advises those who could be infected to wash their hands frequently and thoroughly and to go to the doctor right away if any hepatitis A symptoms develop in the coming weeks.
Symptoms of hepatitis A include loss of appetite, nausea, tiredness, fever, stomach pain, brown colored urine, light colored stools and yellowish skin and eyes, according to the Health Department release. Hepatitis A is spread through the contamination of food, which often occurs when an infected person doesn’t wash their hands after using the bathroom and then handles food.
