An employee who handled food at a Hardee’s restaurant located in Charlotte, NC, has been diagnosed with Hepatitis A. Over 4,000 people ate at the restaurant during a 10-day period in which the employee worked with an active diagnosis of the disease. As a result, those customers who ate food at the Hardee’s location at 2604 Little Rock Road in Charlotte between June 13 and 23 may have been exposed to the serious liver disease.
The Mecklenburg County Health Department has alerted customers that they should be vaccinated to prevent any potential health risks from the exposure. County officials have provided 1,193 doses of vaccine to Hardee’s customers as of June 27.
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver disease caused by a virus spread from person to person. The illness can last for weeks to months. Outbreaks can be caused by food safety issues, when a restaurant employee does not follow proper hygiene procedures such as thoroughly washing hands after using the restroom.
Symptoms of Hepatitis A infection can include nausea, fever, yellowing of the eyes and skin, dark urine, grey feces, joint pain, feeling tired, loss of appetite and stomach pain. Unlike other diseases and illnesses, you cannot get Hepatitis A from simply interacting with an infected person. Infection is the result of contact with an infected person’s stool, particularly when consuming food prepared by an infected person that recently used the bathroom but didn’t wash his or her hands with soap and water. Unlike Hepatitis B and C, Hepatitis A is temporary and rarely results in chronic liver disease, but if left untreated, acute liver failure could end in death.
If you ate at the Hardee’s in Charlotte between June 13 and 23, you are encourages to seek medical treatment. If you have any questions, please contact the food poisoning lawyers at 1-888-335-4901 to learn more about your legal options.
