Hepatitis A case reported at Beverly Hills Whole Foods
A Whole Foods store in San Francisco, California pictured in 2023
The Los Angeles Public Health Department has identified an employee with a case of hepatitis A at a Whole Foods in Beverly Hills, California.
Officials are investigating the matter and have not yet identified additional cases, the department said on Friday, from the store on N. Crescent Drive.
Due to the employee’s responsibilities, customers who purchased products from the seafood counter section between 20 April and 13 May should seek a hepatitis A vaccine, the department announced.
“Receiving vaccination as soon as possible after exposure could help reduce the risk of developing hepatitis A infection,” the department said.
Hepatitis A is a liver infection that can “range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months.” In rare cases, the disease can be lethal, according to the department.
Whole Foods will be working closely with the department to protect employees and customers, a spokesperson for the company told The Independent.
“The team member diagnosed is not working, and we are not aware of anyone else becoming ill,” the spokesperson said. “While we have strict food safety processes in place in our stores, we encourage anyone who believes they may have been exposed to follow the guidance of the health department.”
In 2022, a hepatitis outbreak left five children dead and more than 100 with severe liver disease across several states.
The year prior, a New Jersey Starbucks employee who tested positive for hepatitis A may have exposed upwards of 1,000 people to the disease.
In response, the state administered some 800 vaccines to people who may have been at risk.
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