Health Officials React to Hepatitis Scare at Harris Teeter Store
RALEIGH, N.C. - Health officials in Wake County, N.C., on Saturday advised up to 7,500 Harris Teeter customers to throw out food and receive treatment after an employee was diagnosed with hepatitis A, The Associated Press reports.
Customers may have been exposed to the virus Aug. 10-18, when the employee worked in the deli of the Harris Teeter store, said Dr. Peter J. Morris, medical director of Wake County Human Services.
Morris said it was unclear how or when the employee contracted the illness. He was not hospitalized.
The county was offering immune globulin to any customer who purchased or ate food from the store's deli and restaurant. The treatment can prevent hepatitis A if it is administered soon after exposure.
Harris Teeter spokeswoman Jessica Graham told the AP that deli employees were being treated with immune globulin. Products in the deli area at the time of exposure have been removed, she said. The grocery advised customers to dispose of all products bought in the deli during the time the employee worked there.
Graham said Harris Teeter would compensate customers for discarded food, and offered to cover county costs for the injections.
Customers may have been exposed to the virus Aug. 10-18, when the employee worked in the deli of the Harris Teeter store, said Dr. Peter J. Morris, medical director of Wake County Human Services.
Morris said it was unclear how or when the employee contracted the illness. He was not hospitalized.
The county was offering immune globulin to any customer who purchased or ate food from the store's deli and restaurant. The treatment can prevent hepatitis A if it is administered soon after exposure.
Harris Teeter spokeswoman Jessica Graham told the AP that deli employees were being treated with immune globulin. Products in the deli area at the time of exposure have been removed, she said. The grocery advised customers to dispose of all products bought in the deli during the time the employee worked there.
Graham said Harris Teeter would compensate customers for discarded food, and offered to cover county costs for the injections.
