Noah Pransky
It was recently brought to my attention that a major Tampa Bay-area grocery store had a Hepatitis A scare when an employee, who worked in food preparation, was diagnosed with the disease after several days of exhibiting symptoms on-the-job.
You’d think every customer who ate the food that employee prepared should know, right?
Florida’s Department of Health doesn’t think so.
With Hepatitis A cases skyrocketing across Florida, reported cases among food workers are also on a steep rise. That’s creating a real public health issue, as ingesting the virus through food or water is the easiest way to contract it.
Yet the DOH chooses not to notify the public of some food worker cases, according to a spokesperson, as the agency weighs the risk to patrons against the risk of a public health scare.
In the case of this grocery store employee last week, who was hospitalized after symptoms worsened over the course of several days, the DOH determined there was “no risk” to customers or even many employees at the store, according to a spokesperson for the grocery chain.
However, neither the DOH nor the Florida Department of Agriculture would answer questions or provide public records this past week about their joint investigation. Only after days of pressure from a reporter did the DOH acknowledge its investigation was not exempt from public record; however, none were provided as of Saturday.
Not every Hepatitis case may necessitate public notice, but if you pay attention to the news, it’s becoming a daily occurrence in Florida. The state reports more cases of Hepatitis A in the first five months of 2019 than the previous five years combined.
Tampa Bay is ground zero for the epidemic, with cases of the liver virus particularly prevalent in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties.
One of the region’s top public health experts says food workers should be required to get Hepatitis vaccines and any case that presents even the slightest risk to customers should be publicized by the state and the food establishment.
“It’s something that’s fully-preventable,” said Dr. Jay Wolfson, Distinguished Service Professor of Public Health at the University of South Florida, “(and) anytime there’s a communicable disease … there’s an obligation to at least notify the community that there’s been a case.”
Wolfson says non-vaccinated individuals should be aware of the virus’ symptoms so they can alert a physician if they feel ill.
The Department of Health indicates vaccines are effective at preventing the spread of Hepatitis A up to two weeks after exposure to the virus. However, symptoms may not develop in an individual for several weeks.
“It’s the kind of thing you want to get out in front of,” Wolfson said.
A spokesperson for the grocery store says the company followed state protocol on notification and response, getting a clean bill of health from the state for its internal processes, including hand-washing, glove use and sanitation. As an additional precaution, the company recommended vaccines to anyone who worked in the same department as the affected individual.
The Department of Health could not provide numbers as to how many Hepatitis cases among food workers resulted in patron warnings, versus how many did not.
10 comments
JaneBall
June 8, 2019 at 10:52 am
In Martin County with 3 deaths, they have yet to let us residents know where they got the HapA….
Pop
June 8, 2019 at 5:43 pm
https://www.who.int/csr/don/07-june-2017-hepatitis-a/en/
RICHARD BENSON RABORN MD
June 8, 2019 at 6:50 pm
I was just in Georgia where there were over 300 cases in the news so Florida has how many? What is the usual rate of cases? Comparison would give context? How about the unvaccinated and possibly infected coming across our borders? Context please!
Steve Hagen
June 9, 2019 at 12:41 pm
And why is Universal Health care not important?.
Jonathan Grabe
June 9, 2019 at 5:56 pm
What does universal health care have to do with anything?! Especially when the Government is not even openly disclosing the problem?
The cost of a vaccination is far lower then the cost of a health insurance premium, much less than the cost of universal health care!
Gregory L McColm
June 10, 2019 at 9:27 am
Half a century ago, Alan Nourse observed that without universal health care, an infectious disease can spread through the uncovered population with disastrous consequences. Despite armchair theorizing by unrealistic economists, uncovered people will avoid doctor’s offices and often wait until they wind up in the emergency room, by which time they will have infected many more uncovered people.
Jennifer Humphreys
June 10, 2019 at 11:31 am
Just curious if there could be any epidemiologic situations that might tie the pollution of Florida’s waters…along with “red tide” issues into a reason for the untoward spike in cases. One would think that the state and the business employing a confirmed food preparation staff would have due diligence to report to the public (and fellow mployees) the possible exposure AND offer preventative treatment and follow up if necessary.
Mary
June 10, 2019 at 10:14 pm
Health care workers don’t even get help vaccines
Jennifer
June 13, 2019 at 8:12 am
Just last month in Hernando County a local country club hosted three high school proms and a Sunday Easter breakfast all cooked and prepared by a Hep A positive food prep worker. The Health Dept did notify the Sheriff and it was published as every student who attended was called in for testing and treatment. Scarey stuff as this affected a few hundred people.
James McLynas
June 20, 2019 at 4:55 pm
Have you looked into how many of these cases have involved people recently incarcerated at the Pinellas County Jail? I have been receiving multiple reports that there is a major outbreak AT the jail and that the PCSO is not only not addressing it, they are forcing people to be locked up in close proximity to those infected which causes them to be infected and then released into the public. Many of the people jailed at Sheriff Gualtieri jail are economically disadvantaged and thus work in food industry jobs. According to former inmates, there are anywhere between 75 and 100 with Hep A at the jail at any point in time and the staff is doing nothing to prevent the spread.
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