Hundreds of customers who had eaten at Amazing Joe’s restaurant in Columbus in late April lined up to be vaccinated after a server who also worked as a bartender there was diagnosed with hepatitis A.
The Bartholomew County Health Department administered free hepatitis A vaccines at an immunization clinic Monday set up for the customers.
Health department officials said they had 1,000 hepatitis A vaccines on hand for the clinic, which was open from noon to 6 p.m. at the old Toys-R-Us storefront at FairOaks Mall. The clinic drew 86 people during the first 46 minutes, said Amanda Organist, health department director of nursing.
“We had people lined up beginning at 11 o’clock,” Organist said. “There have been at least 40 to 50 people just in this last half hour,” she said as the clinic was finishing up its first hour.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Bartholomew County Health Department Administrator Collis Mayfield said county health officials requested the vaccines on Thursday during a conference call with officials from the Indiana State Department of Health after being notified that a female Amazing Joe’s employee reported having hepatitis A symptoms while working at the restaurant.
The restaurant, at 2607 Central Ave., closed May 1 to have all surfaces in the facility sanitized by employees before the eatery reopened on Thursday.
Indiana is one of several states experiencing a hepatitis A outbreak that has already killed four people in Indiana, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
While Bartholomew County typically sees six to seven unrelated cases of hepatitis A per year, the county saw 18 or 19 cases last year, Mayfield said. It is relatively rare for restaurant patrons to become infected with hepatitis A due to an infected food handler, Mayfield said.
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious viral liver infection that can cause loss of appetite, nausea, tiredness, fever, stomach pain, brown-colored urine and light-colored stools. The virus spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food or drinks contaminated with infected fecal matter. This often happens when an infected person fails to wash his or her hands adequately after using the bathroom or engages in behaviors that increase the risk of infection, the health department said.
Vaccination protocols require a follow-up booster six months after the initial vaccination. While the first round was free at the immunization clinic on Monday, the booster will not be, said Melinda Webb, heath department nurse.
“The first one is on us,” Webb said. “The second one would be with a pharmacy or people can get it from their doctor.”
The booster may be covered by insurance, Organist said. It costs $68 to get the booster at the Bartholomew County Health Department without insurance coverage.
Among those being vaccinated Monday was Don Lucas, 83, who said he came in as a precaution. He said he and his wife, Ann, typically eat at Amazing Joe’s every Friday.
“I’m 83 (years old), and I can’t afford to have (hepatitis A),” he said. “We were up there the last two Fridays.”
Gordon Rust, 66, said he also came in for the vaccine as a precaution, but also said he will continue to eat at Amazing Joe’s. “Supposedly I was exposed (to hepatitis A) at Amazing Joe’s on (April) 25th,” he said.
Linda Critzer, 75, said she eats at Amazing Joe’s at least once per week.
“I’m retired, and I eat out quite a bit,” she said. “Hopefully, this will protect me now. This happens more than we realize.”
County health officials said this is the first time that the county has had to deal with a situation of this scale involving hepatitis A. Mayfield projected that around 300 to 400 vaccines of the supply of 1,000 likely would be administered by the time the immunization clinic closed Monday.
County health officials urged anyone who consumed food or drinks at Amazing Joe’s from mid- to late-April to seek medical attention if they exhibit symptoms of hepatitis A.
While the vaccine must be administered within two weeks of exposure to hepatitis A to be effective, those who ate at the restaurant on April 22, and April 24-26 were still eligible to obtain a free vaccination on Monday. Those who ate at the restaurant from April 17 through 21 were outside that window of opportunity for vaccination and were asked by the health department to monitor their health for symptoms up to 50 days after exposure.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”How to prevent infection” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Careful hand washing, including under the fingernails, with soap and water is one way to prevent hepatitis A, according to the Bartholomew County Health Department. A vaccination for the disease is also effective.
Indiana has required a hepatitis A vaccination for school admission since 2014, and the vaccine was required for students entering sixth and 12th grades in 2018.
For more information, visit in.gov/isdh/27791.htm.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
