Monday, Feb. 4, 2019
(News 12 at 6 O’Clock / NBC 26 at 7)
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – Anyone who went to Aiken Brewing Company from January 11th and 26th may have been exposed to Hepatitis A, but the Department of Health and Environmental Control says the risk of actually catching the virus after going to the restaurant is low.
To be clear, the virus was not in the food or the beer at the restaurant. An employee tested positive last week.
Although the risk is minimal, we still saw people heading into Aiken’s health department to get checked out and vaccinated on Monday.
Health care worker Rebecca Ramirez was one of the people who spent her lunch break at the Aiken Health Department. She ate dinner at Aiken Brewing a couple of weeks ago.
“It was the Sadie Hawkins Dance in downtown Aiken,” Ramirez told us. “I had my son, his girlfriend, my 7-year-old and my husband.”
DHEC encourages anyone who ate at the restaurant from January 20th to the 26th to get a free vaccination at the Aiken Health Department. They say people who ate at the restaurant as early as the 11th of January should be on the lookout for symptoms.
Ramirez works in the dental field, so she wanted to get tested and vaccinated to keep her patients safe. She says she plans on eating at Aiken Brewing again.
"We just love the food there and my son would just die if I couldn't eat the cheese fries."
The clinic opens back up at 10:00 a.m. The owner of the restaurant says all their workers have now been vaccinated.
10:15 a.m.
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) -- News 12 has acquired the most recent health grades for the Aiken Brewing Company from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
The last inspection was on January 17, 2019, and the restaurant and bar received a score of 99 out of 100. Just a week prior they scored a 96 with one violation.
According to the Mayo Clinic, "Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus. The virus is one of several types of hepatitis viruses that cause inflammation and affect your liver's ability to function."
7:50 a.m.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) -- The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is advising of possible exposure to Hepatitis A at local Aiken restaurant.
Customers who ate at the Aiken Brewing Company on Laurens Street SW in downtown Aiken might have been exposed to the virus.
DHEC was notified on Jan. 31, 2019 that an employee of the restaurant tested positive for Hepatitis A.
Customers who ate there between Jan. 11 and Jan. 26, 2019 could have been exposed to the virus. DHEC is working with the restaurant to investigate possible exposures and arrange preventive treatment for anyone who may be affected.
Officials tell us the Aiken Brewing Company received an A rating from DHEC at their last inspection conducted on Jan. 9, 2019.
DHEC will offer no-cost Hepatitis A vaccine to individuals who may have been exposed as a precaution. Customers and staff who ate food prepared at the restaurant from Jan. 21 through Jan. 26, 2019 are encouraged to go to the Aiken County Health Department at 222 Beaufort St. NE in Aiken for post-exposure treatment on the following date and times:
Monday, February 4th, from 12-6 pm
Tuesday, February 5th, from 10 am - 7 pm
Wednesday, February 6th, from 10 am - 6 pm
Thursday, February 7th, from 10 am - 6 pm
Anyone who ate at the restaurant between these dates should watch for symptoms of infection, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, belly pain or yellowing of the eyes and skin. People usually become sick within two to six weeks after being exposed to the virus.
Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease. According to doctors, the risk of the Hepatitis A virus spreading from an infected employee to customers in a restaurant setting is low. The illness is not a food borne outbreak.
https://www.wrdw.com/content/news/Possible-exposure-to-Hepatitis-A-at-Aiken-restaurant-505298882.html 2019-02-04 23:03:45Z
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