Hep A warning for patrons of Edo Japan in Edmonton, St. Albert

A food handler was infected with the virus, says Alberta Health Services

Image | Edo Japan

Caption: AHS says there is no ongoing risk from the restaurants as they have both been thoroughly cleaned and inspected. (Edo Japan)

Patrons of at a pair of Japanese restaurants in the Edmonton area may have been exposed to Hepatitis A.
Alberta Health Services confirmed Tuesday that a food handler with the untreatable infection had been working at two Edo Japan locations — at Manning Town Centre in north Edmonton and the Tudor Glen South storefront in St. Albert.
Anyone who dined at these restaurants between June 13-18 and June 21-28 (inclusive) may have been exposed.
"While we believe the risk to the public is low, hepatitis A is a serious infection," says Dr. Joanna Oda, Medical Officer of Health for the Edmonton Zone.
"As a precaution, anyone who consumed food at either Edo location is advised to monitor themselves and their family for symptoms until Aug. 17, 2016."
Hepatitis A, an infection of the liver caused by a virus, is most often spread through direct contact with an infected person, but individuals can also contract the illness indirectly through contaminated food or water.
Symptoms, which can arise within 15 to 50 days after exposure, can include poor appetite, nausea and vomiting; abdominal pain and fever; followed by dark-coloured urine, light-coloured stools, and yellowing of eyes and skin several days later.
Individuals who develop such symptoms between June 27 and Aug. 17 of this year are advised to contact Health Link at 811 immediately.
There is no specific treatment for hepatitis A, but it can be prevented through immunization.
People who have had hepatitis A infection in the past or who have previously received the vaccine are not at risk of infection.
Health officials say there is no ongoing risk of infection associated with either of the Edo locations, as both have been cleaned and inspected.