Another restaurant worker tests positive for hepatitis A in northeast Arkansas

The state will offer hepatitis A vaccinations in Jonesboro on Friday and Monday after a restaurant employee tested positive for the virus.

People who ate at the Pizza Inn at 358 Southwest Drive in Jonesboro from Sept. 4-17 should seek vaccination immediately if they have never been vaccinated or don’t know whether they have been, the state Department of Health said in a news release.

The vaccine will be available at the Craighead County Health Unit in Jonesboro from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Monday.

People should bring their insurance card if they have one but will not have to pay out of pocket for the shot, the department said.

The restaurant worker is one of 130 people in northeast Arkansas who have been diagnosed with the disease since February. At least seven other food service workers have tested positive, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.

The disease affects the liver and is typically spread when a person ingests small amounts of fecal matter. Although a person may feel sick for months, most people recover completely and will not have any lasting liver damage, the department said.

Typical symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay-colored bowel movements, joint pain or jaundice.

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