Starbucks employee in New Jersey contracts hepatitis A

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, New Jersey — Health officials in New Jersey are warning people who visited a Starbucks in Gloucester Township that they may have been exposed to hepatitis A.

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In a news release, the Camden County Health Department said it was notified that an employee at the suburban Philadelphia store had tested positive and had “worked through the infectious period.”

The worker who contracted the virus is not currently working, and health officials have identified all those who were in close contact with the worker, WPVI reported. However, officials estimate that as many as 4,000 people may be impacted.

The person with hepatitis A worked Thursday, Friday and Saturday shifts during the first two weeks of November, WCAU reported. Health officials are urging residents who visited the coffee shop during those days to get a vaccine, according to the television station.

“The county health department has been working closely with the patient and the staff at the Starbucks to address the situation,” Camden County Health Officer Paschal Nwako said in a statement. “Our highest priority is ensuring everyone involved remains safe and healthy. The patient is not currently working, and close contacts have been identified. We encourage anyone who may believe they were exposed to get vaccinated against hepatitis A by calling the county health department or your primary care physician.”

Hepatitis A is very contagious, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is spread when someone unknowingly ingests the virus through close personal contact with an infected person or through eating contaminated food or drink. Symptoms of hepatitis A can last up to 2 months and include fatigue, nausea, stomach pain, and jaundice, the CDC said.

Public health employees provided 17 hepatitis A vaccines to Starbucks employees on Thursday and set up a nearby pop-up vaccine clinic Friday and Saturday, Camden County spokesperson Dan Keashen told CNN.

So far, 800 vaccines have been administered, Keashen said.

“Starbucks says that that location is busy, as most are,” Keashen told CNN. “They’re saying they have an average of 600 patrons a day and some are return patrons maybe going multiple times a day ... but the exposure is probably in the thousands.”

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