• Home
  • Posts
  • Popular Restaurant Has Reopened After Hepatitis Scare

Popular Restaurant Has Reopened After Hepatitis Scare

hepatitis-a-vaccine

By Richard Kaufman
Sentinel Reporter

A popular eatery for Greenwich residents in nearby Port Chester, N.Y., has been deemed safe and reopened after temporarily and voluntarily closing on Oct. 25 due to a Hepatitis A outbreak.

The Westchester County Department of Health, after learning that an employee had recently worked at Bartaco while infectious, issued a health alert last week recommending that individuals who ate at the restaurant between Oct. 17 and Oct. 23 get preventative treatment against Hepatitis A, the viral illness that affects the liver.

Greenwich Hospital is offering Hepatitis A vaccines for residents, however, they’re only effective if given within two weeks of exposure. Monday, Nov. 6 will be the final day for those who believe they might’ve been exposed to get preventative treatment.

Residents can go to the Greenwich Hospital second floor clinic and receive a vaccine today and Monday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., or they can go to the new walk-in clinic at 90 South Ridge Street in Rye Brook, N.Y., between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., or Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to noon.

Vaccines will also be available in the evenings and over the weekend at Greenwich Hospital’s Emergency Department. For more information on Westchester County vaccine locations, go to Health.westchestergov.com.

Westchester County is also advising people who ate or drank at the restaurant between Aug. 22 and Oct. 15 that they may also have been exposed. Since those people are outside the treatment window, they’re being encouraged to contact their primary healthcare provider.

According to the alert issued, “Hepatitis A is transmitted by consuming food or drinks that have been handled by an infected person. It may also be spread from person to person by ingesting something that has been contaminated with the stool of a person with Hepatitis A. Casual contact, such as sitting together, does not spread the virus.”

According to Dr. Jim Sebatta, head of the Infectious Disease Department at Greenwich Hospital, Hepatitis A usually begins with nonspecific symptoms, such as malaise, aches, fever, nausea and sometimes a rash.

“Sometimes you have a few symptoms, but the things to look out for are gastrointestinal upset, nausea, abdominal discomfort, then jaundice,” Sebatta said.

Sebatta noted that it usually takes 30 days for symptoms to surface. But because of the time it takes to develop antibodies to the vaccine, there’s only a limited window in which to receive treatment.

“Once you get exposed, the vaccine takes up to two weeks to work. Beyond that time, it’s not effective,” he said.

Hepatitis A is not a fatal illness, but Sebatta said it can turn severe. “The cases go from very mild to very severe where the liver is really affected.”

According to Greenwich’s Director of Health, Caroline Baisley, the town reported just two cases of the virus last year, one instance in 2015 and none in 2014. However, those were isolated incidents that didn’t pose an immediate threat to the general public.

“This is considered an outbreak of this disease associated with a food handler,” she said. “This is something that you normally wouldn’t see on a regular basis.”

Baisley said that upon learning of Westchester County’s alert, she immediately let Greenwich residents know what happened. “Our phones were ringing [last] Thursday morning,” she said, noting that between the department and the hospital probably a couple of hundred people had reached out. “People started calling asking questions about the situation.”

Baisley said prevention comes down to good health inspection programs, good hygienic practices, and responsibility with restaurant owners and facility operators.

She added that Greenwich is very aggressive towards inspections, and looks at all aspects of a facility’s operation. “We do the best we can locally, and [Greenwich is] probably one of the best programs there is.”

Baisley said washing hands is a simple, overlooked method in preventing illness.

“Obviously the person who transmitted this virus was not washing their hands and applying any hygienic practices. Otherwise, washing hands would have not caused this outbreak to occur,” she said. “Washing your hands can definitely limit your risk in getting sick. It really is a very simple thing, but not many people do it.

According to the alert, Bartaco has fully cooperated with the investigation into the matter, and they’ve voluntarily supplied vaccines to all employees.

“We are committed to food safety and the quality of our food,” said Pam Ritz, a Bartaco spokeswoman. “We have set-up a dedicated phone line for any guests who may wish to ask us questions directly and we encourage our guests to reach out at 844-617-8242, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.”

Greenwich residents can also reach out to the town’s Health Department at 203-622-6488 with any questions or concerns.

Related Posts
Loading...