People who recently dined at a Cape Cod restaurant may have been exposed to the virus hepatitis A, health officials said Saturday.
A server at the restaurant in Provincetown's The Red Inn was confirmed to have a hepatitis A infection, according to state and local health officials. Anyone who ate there between April 30 and May 15 was urged to contact their doctor, since preventative measures are typically only effective at preventing hep A infection if given within two weeks of being exposed, before symptoms begin.
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WATCH HEREThe highly contagious virus infects the liver and can cause sickness, including jaundice, fever, joint pain and malaise for weeks or months, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine, safe, effective and regularly given in the U.S. since 1995, can prevent sickness.
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SIGN UP Anyone who ate at The Red Inn from April 30 to May 15 was also urged to wash and rinse their hands very thoroughly both after going to the bathroom and before preparing food — the virus is spread through what's known as the fecal-oral route, according to Saturday's announcement from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment and Provincetown Board of Health.
The inn's manager, Rachel Judlin, said in a message Sunday that guests' and employees' safety is the hotel's top priority, and that staff has "worked closely with the local and state departments of health to ensure there has not and will not be a spread of Hepatitis A from our establishment.
"The illness was not contracted here, nor have there been any reports of a spread of any kind," she added.
