Food handler at Siler City, NC Burger King diagnosed with hep A

Line-ups for post hepatatis A IgG shots are expected at Siler City, NC Burger King this weekend after a food handler who worked on August 2 and 3rd has tested positive for the virus.

The Chatham County Public Health Department issued a statement late Friday urging patrons of the restaurant, at 1712 E. 11th St., to be vaccinated for hepatitis A.

Immunizations will be offered for free at the health department, at 1000 S. 10th Ave., Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. and Monday and Tuesday between 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

The vaccine can prevent infection up to 14 days after exposure, so those who ate at the Burger King should get an injection by Aug. 17, the health department said.

If I was running a food business, hep A would scare me the most. It often turns out like this: no illnesses linked to the food handler yet (and maybe the individual is the best handwasher out there) but there will still be hundreds of people lining up resulting in pretty bad PR.

Here’s an old food safety infosheet detailing a hep A outbreak at a McDonalds in Illinois last year.

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About Ben Chapman

Dr. Ben Chapman is a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. As a teenager, a Saturday afternoon viewing of the classic cable movie, Outbreak, sparked his interest in pathogens and public health. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements, and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers, and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, maybe not surprisingly, Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman.