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Ill. McDonald's part of hepatitis A investigation
July 20, 2009
A McDonald's restaurant in Milan, Ill., is part of an investigation into reporting failures connected to a Hepatitis A diagnosis of one of its employees.
KWQC(Davenport, Iowa) reports that the Rock Island County Sheriff's Department will launch an investigation into apparent reporting failures in regard to the outbreak. A Milan McDonald's restaurant employee was diagnosed with Hepatitis A on June 9, but the Rock Island County Health Department says it was made aware of the illness July 10.
Kevin Murphy, the McDonald's franchisee, released the following statement regarding the outbreak:
"The health and safety of our customers and employees is a priority that will never knowingly be compromised. Once we were notified of this matter by the Rock Island County Health Department on July 13, we took immediate corrective action to address their concerns. "No one ill knowingly worked in our restaurant once we were notified. "The Rock Island County Health Department has repeatedly said that they have not confirmed the source of the outbreak. In fact, they believe, based on the number of confirmed cases, that it's most likely there are multiple sources. "We'll continue to work with the Rock Island County Health Department to ensure the continued safe operation of our restaurant."
Theresa Foes with the Rock Island County Health Department said that all of the illnesses are connected but not tied to a single business, according to a separate KWQC report. "It's not a good idea to focus on one place of business," Foes said. "There could be others that are the source of contamination for a person if everyone is not using good hygiene."
The Illinois Department of Public Health has announced it is working with the Rock Island County Health Department with a vaccination clinic in response to a hepatitis A outbreak following the diagnosis of a McDonald's employee in Milan, Ill. An employee diagnosed with hepatitis A was reported to have worked during his/her infectious period and handled food items that were not subsequently cooked, according to a news release.
KWQCalso interviewed one of the employees diagnosed with the illness, who says she informed her employer immediately after being released from the hospital in late June when she requested a leave of absence to recuperate.
In a related story,WQADreports the operator of the Milan McDonald's said a worker had hepatitis A and didn't tell the restaurant until several weeks after the illness was diagnosed. An estimated 10,000 people who ate there are being urged to get preventive treatment for the virus, which can cause fever and abdominal pain.
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