Two additional Hepatitis A cases were confirmed in Hamilton Township this week, both possibly linked to an initial case contracted in late November 2014 by a restaurant employee.
Hamilton Township health officials learned of the new cases Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The first additional case was confirmed in an employee of The Hair Port Salon, located at 3144 South Broad Street in Hamilton, according to a township release. The patient has been released from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – Hamilton and is presently recovering at home. The patient in the second additional case (third case in community) is a part-time fitness instructor at the Hamilton Area YMCA’s JKR Branch on Whitehorse-Mercerville Road in Hamilton, and also works at the New Jersey Athletic Club, located on Quakerbridge Road in Lawrence and at the Mercer County Board of Social Services in Trenton. The fitness instructor is recovering at home now.
In a release, Hamilton Township health officials warned that anyone who visited The Hair Port Salon between Dec. 4 and 31 may be at risk for developing Hepatitis A if they have not previously received with the Hepatitis A vaccine. The same holds for anyone who visited the Hamilton Area YMCA’s JKR Branch, the New Jersey Athletic Club in Lawrenceville or the Mercer County Board of Social Services Woolverton Street location from Dec. 5 to 29.
The township recommended unvaccinated individuals who visited any of the locations listed during the above time period should receive an injection of immune globulin or Hepatitis A vaccine as soon as possible.
During routine questioning with the patients in the new cases, Hamilton Township Health officials confirmed both individuals had eaten at or from Rosa’s Restaurant and Catering, located at 3442 South Broad Street in Hamilton, during the first confirmed Hepatitis A case in November. Hamilton Township’s Division of Health cannot say with any certainty that the two additional cases were a direct result from the original infection/case, according to the township news release.
The early signs and symptoms of Hepatitis A appear 2-6 weeks after exposure and commonly include mild fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, “clay-colored” stool, tiredness, pain in the upper right side of the abdomen under the rib cage and dark urine and yellowing of the eyes or skin. Additional information regarding Hepatitis A can be viewed at cdc.gov/hepatitis/ChooseA.htm. The disease varies in severity, with mild cases lasting two weeks or less and the more severe cases lasting 4-6 weeks or longer. Even those with mild symptoms can be highly infectious, and should consult a pyshician immediately.
For more information, contact Hamilton Township Division of Health at (609) 890-3884.
Hamilton Township Mayor Kelly Yaede speaks at a press conference at the township call center in October 2014.,
