Patrons who ate at the Fruity Yogurt restaurant in Goldsboro, North Carolina on December 7, 2011 may have been exposed to Hepatitis A through a sick employee. The Wayne County Health Department announced that an employee who worked at the Fruity Yogurt on that date was diagnosed with Hepatitis A on December 14.
Wayne County Health Department is holding a vaccine clinic today, December 21, 2011 from 7 AM to 6 PM located at 301 N. Herman Street, Goldsboro, North Carolina. Anyone who ate at the restaurant on December 7 is being asked to go to the clinic and receive a shot.
The symptoms of Hepatitis A usually begin about 28 days after exposure to the virus, but can appear as early as 15 days or as late as 50 days after exposure.
The symptoms include muscle aches, headache, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, fever, and malaise. After a few days of the aforementioned symptoms, jaundice (yellowing of the skin, eyes and mucous membranes) sets in. A person infected may also notice that urine turns dark in color and stools become light or clay-colored.
In general, symptoms usually last less than 2 months, although 10% to 15% of symptomatic persons have prolonged or relapsing disease for up to 6 months. It is not unusual, however, for blood tests to remain abnormal for six months or more.