A Starbucks employee tests positive for hepatitis A, which could expose thousands of customers to the virus
According to county spokesman Dan Keashen, exposure to hepatitis A includes anyone who visited the Starbucks at 1490 Blackwood Clementon Road on November 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13.
The Camden County Health Department was notified of the incident on Wednesday and immediately closed the Starbucks location in Gloucester Township, Keashen told CNN.
“Our highest priority is to make sure everyone involved remains safe and healthy. The patient is currently out of work and close contacts have been identified. We encourage anyone who can be trusted. that they have been exposed to the hepatitis A vaccine by calling your county health department or your primary care doctor.”
Public health officials gave 17 hepatitis A vaccines to Starbucks employees on Thursday and set up a pop-up vaccine clinic nearby on Friday and Saturday, Keashen said.
To date, 800 vaccines have been used, marking the largest hepatitis A vaccination effort in the state’s history, according to Keashen.
“Starbucks says that location is very busy,” says Keashen. “They say they have an average of 600 patrons a day, and some are returning patrons who can come several times a day … but the number of contacts is probably in the thousands.”
Starbucks customers ‘absolutely should be vaccinated’
The Starbucks employee who contracted the virus is in the process of recovering. To date, no one has tested positive for hepatitis A exposure, the spokesperson said.
“If you come into contact with material from the drive or you go inside a building, you should absolutely get vaccinated.”
Due to the limited availability of vaccines in the state, obtaining the appropriate dose is not an easy task.
“We have public health officers driving across the state, in some cases hundreds of miles, to get vaccines across the state,” explains Keashen. “There are not many doses of hepatitis A vaccine in New Jersey.”
The county has successfully secured 500 doses for another pop-up clinic scheduled for Wednesday as demand for the vaccine continues to grow.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection that can be spread through close contact with an infected person or through the consumption of food or items. contaminated drinking.
Symptoms include fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, and jaundice and usually appear two to six weeks after infection and last less than two months, according to the CDC.
.
