Restaurant chain proactively deals with Hepatitis A outbreak

Jeff Barron
Lancaster Eagle Gazette
Tina Weber, left, and Jim Rimar, operations manager at the Lancaster Golden Corral restaurant, switch pans on the buffet line Thursday, July 12, 2018, in Lancaster. Golden Corral restaurants are offering free Hepatitis A vaccines to employees in eight location in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky in an effort to curb an outbreak in this part of the country.

LANCASTER - To get ahead of the Hepatitis A outbreak which recently hit this part of the country, Golden Corral restaurants are offering free vaccines to their employees in eight locations in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.

That includes the restaurant at 2296 N. Memorial Drive, which Platinum Corral is the franchise owner.

Platinum Corral also owns restaurants in Gallipolis, Zanesville and Chillicothe in Ohio. It additionally owns locations in Parkersburg, East Huntington and Cross Lanes, West Virginia and one restaurant in Ashland, Kentucky.

Platinum Corral's area managing director Jace Stickdorn said the latest Hepatitis A outbreak started in Louisville, Kentucky.

But he said there have been no cases of the illness at any of the eight Golden Corral locations in his area. Stickdorn also said there has been 100-percent participation among employees with the vaccination initiative.

"The southern part of our market was affected first," he said. "We decided to be proactive and protect our staff, our customers and the community. We're offering a base level of protection, and it has been quite expensive for us."

Fairfield County Health Department Administrator Larry Hanna said Hepatitis A can be transferred in restaurants from employees not washing their hands after using the restroom. 

Stickdorn said other restaurants are also vaccinating their employees. Local health department nurse Bekah Sutter said a couple local restaurants have also called her agency.

The Ohio Department of Health declared a statewide Hepatitis A outbreak last month when it reported 79 cases in the state. That number is almost double the amount of cases in all of last year.

The ODH said there are 761 cases in Kentucky, 843 in Michigan, 248 in West Virginia and 138 cases in Indiana this year.

Sutter said there have been two cases of Hepatitis A in Fairfield County this year and two possible cases last year. She said the two possible cases from last year cannot be confirmed, though.

Hanna said the outbreak has been especially bad in counties along the Ohio River and in Ohio's Appalachian region. He also said he thinks the odds of getting Hepatitis A from a restaurant are low.

The ODH said Hepatitis A is a liver disease that's preventable with the vaccine. Sutter said it is not the same disease as Hepatitis C or Hepatits B and is not usually fatal. She said Hepatitis A can cause a variety of symptoms, including nausea, diarrhea, headache, malaise and more. 

It says it is spread when someone ingests fecal matter, even microscopic amounts. Fecal matter can be transferred through objects, food or drinks contaminated by the stool of an infected person, the ODH said.

It can also be transferred through certain types of sexual contact. Drug use is also associated with Hepatitis A and the latest outbreak has also been linked to those who have been incarcerated. Hanna said dirty prison tattoo needles are a reason for the prison cases.

Call the local health department at 740-652-2800 for more information on Hepatitis A.

jbarron@gannett.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron