Diners who ate at the Jerry’s Deli, located near UCLA in Westwood, California, might be at risk for <"https://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/hepatitis">Hepatitis A, according to KTLA.
According to the Los Angeles County Health Department, diners could have been exposed to the virus if they ate sandwiches at Jerry’s Deli on November 18th, 21st, 23rd, or 24th. Anyone who ate at Jerry’s Deli on those dates is strongly urged to sewek treatment, as soon as possible, with either a Hepatitis A vaccine or an immunoglobulin (IG) shot as soon as possible, KTLA wrote.
The Department of Public Health (DPH) said hat IG and the hepatitis A vaccine will be available through specific clinics through December 8. Clinic names, dates, and locations are available on the DPH website here.
Information is also accessible by calling the LA County Info line at 211 from any landline or cell phone within that county, added KTLA.
The Mayo Clinic describes hepatitis A as a highly contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus, one of several types of hepatitis viruses that cause inflammation in the liver, affecting the organ’s ability to function.
Hepatitis A is typically contracted from contaminated food or water or from close contact with someone carrying the infection, said the Mayo Clinic. KTLA adds that the virus is also passed through food or drink contaminated with feces and can lead to fatigue, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, appetite loss, low fever, muscle ache, itching, and darker urine and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes). Stomach discomfort or pain generally occurs in the area of the liver, the Mayo Clinic noted.
The virus is spread when someone with the virus handles food without first carefully washing his or her hands after using the toilet, through contaminated drinking water, consuming raw shellfish from water polluted with sewage, being in close contact with someone who is infected, having sex with an infected person, or receiving tainted blood, according to the Mayo Clinic.
When someone ingests small amounts of contaminated fecal matter, the hepatitis A virus then infects the liver cells and causes inflammation, which can impair liver function and cause other signs and symptoms of hepatitis A.
The Mayo Clinic points out that, although not common, some people with hepatitis A will experience the signs and symptoms of hepatitis A infection for several weeks longer than usual. In these cases, hepatitis A signs and symptoms may disappear and reappear over several weeks, with these signs and symptoms occurring over a longer period of time. According to the Mayo Clinic, this particular form of the infection is not more serious.
In rare cases, said the Mayo Clinic, hepatitis A can cause acute liver failure, which is described as a sudden loss of liver function. People with the highest risk of this complication include those with chronic liver diseases and older adults. Acute liver failure requires hospitalization for monitoring and treatment and, in some cases, may require a liver transplant.
