Gallia County Health Department reports Hep A cases at restaurant

GALLIPOLIS, Ohio – Recently the Gallia County Health Department has confirmed 2 positive cases of Hepatitis A in Gallia County. One of these cases has been linked to a food handler at Arby’s located at 1521 State Route 7 South, Gallipolis, Ohio 45631.

According to the Gallia County Health Department, Arby’s Corporate, local management, and employees have cooperated fully with the local and state health officials during this investigation.

The Gallia County Health Department recommends individuals who ate at Arby’s from July 11-18, 2018 get vaccinated for Hepatitis A for precautionary measures. To date, these are the only open investigations potentially related to the ongoing multistate Hepatitis A outbreak.

According to a statement released from the Gallia County Health Department, the agency has been actively monitoring the situation in surrounding counties and vaccinating high risk populations in Gallia County.

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) does NOT recommend routine Hepatitis A vaccination of Healthcare Workers. Additionally, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) does NOT recommend routine Hepatitis A vaccination for Food Workers. Currently, ODH is strongly recommending the following groups to get the Hepatitis A vaccine: men who have sex with men, persons who inject drugs and person who use illegal non-injection drugs. These are the highest risk groups for transmission of Hepatitis A.

Information on the second case was not part of the released statement.

For the Meigs County Health Department, call 740-992-6626 for vaccine availability.