The Arkansas Department of Health issued an alert Tuesday after a worker at a Subway restaurant in Morrilton was diagnosed with hepatitis A.
Customers who ate at the restaurant at 1812 Arkansas 9 Business between March 25 and April 5 are at risk of having been exposed to the virus that causes the liver disease, the department said in a release. No cases besides that of the infected worker had been reported as of Tuesday.
People experiencing symptoms, including fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay-colored bowel movements, joint pain or jaundice should contact their doctor immediately, the department said in the release.
Those not experiencing symptoms but at risk of having been exposed might want to consider vaccination or immune globulin, a medicine that can prevent infection, the department said.
The vaccine and medicine will be available by appointment from the department's Conway County Health Unit at 100 Hospital Drive in Morrilton.
The department will bill a patient's insurance plan for the cost of the vaccine or immune globulin, or provide it at no cost for those without insurance, department spokesman Kerry Krell said. The vaccine costs $30 for an adult or $20 for a child, while immune globulin costs $60, she said.
An appointment can be scheduled by calling the health unit at (501) 354-4652.
Hepatitis A, a disease that affects the liver, is spread through fecal matter, the department said. It can cause illness two to seven weeks after exposure, with most people developing symptoms in three or four weeks.
Although they may feel sick for months, most people infected with hepatitis A will recover completely and will not have any lasting liver damage, the department said.
Last fall, the state Board of Health began requiring vaccinations for hepatitis A for children in child care, kindergarten and first grade.
The Subway worker is the only person whose hepatitis A diagnosis has been reported to the department so far this year, Krell said.
Two cases were reported in 2014, and nine were reported in 2013, she said.
Metro on 04/15/2015