Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 8, 1994 TAG: 9411080130
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
About 200 people were turned away from Monday's clinic. They were asked to come to one from 3 to 6 p.m. today at the Roanoke Civic Center, when more globulin is expected to arrive from Fort Lee army base. Local and state pharmacy supplies have been exhausted, officials said.
Hepatitis A is a generally mild viral disease that affects the liver. An injection of immune globulin, which is made from human plasma, can boost a person's immune system and perhaps prevent the illness if taken within 14 days of exposure.
"Grown-ups get the worst cases, and they get sick, lose their appetite and turn yellow, and we don't like that," Roanoke City Health Director Molly Rutledge said.
The 20 employees of the Dairy Queen also are being tested for the illness, but the restaurant's cleanliness and health practices are not under suspicion, Rutledge said.
"Dairy Queen has an impeccable record in terms of food handling," she said.
The Health Department reaction is "routine," Rutledge said.
People who ate at the restaurant Oct. 24 were given priority for shots Monday because the globulin supply was limited. People also had to be turned away Sunday.
Customers of the restaurant between Oct. 25 and 29 are eligible for the globulin injection, Rutledge said. Persons who ate at the restaurant after Oct. 29 are not considered at risk because the employee hasn't worked since then.
No other cases have been identified, and there might not be any more, Rutledge said. In May, a worker who held jobs with two area food establishments was diagnosed with hepatitis A, but no other cases emerged from that.
Hepatitis A should not be confused with Hepatitis B, which can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. Hepatitis A is most often transmitted when a restaurant worker does not properly wash his or her hands after using the bathroom. It also is often transmitted by children, who frequently show no symptoms, Rutledge said.
It has not been determined how the Dairy Queen employee became infected.
Dennis Rea, Dairy Queen owner, praised the worker for "excellent personal hygiene." She had been caring for a sick child, he said.
"This has been devastating," Rea said. He spent Monday fielding calls from concerned customers.
"I heard fear from some of those people," he said.
Rea opened the restaurant seven years ago, and it has done a good business, he said.
"Until now," he added.
Anywhere from 500 to 700 receipts are rung up daily, and many represent several customers, he said.
"Sunday night business was only a fraction of what we usually have," he said. Monday wasn't a lot better.
The 73 Dairy Queen restaurants in the state are franchises of Dairy Queen of Virginia, which has headquarters in Richmond. District Manager Banks Buchanan joined Rea at the restaurant Monday.
The franchises are evaluated each quarter for such things as cleanliness, refrigeration temperatures and equipment condition, he said.
"This store has never had a problem," Buchanan said.
Rea said he feels "victimized," but he can't find a culprit.
If the ill employee wants to return to work after she recovers, "I have no problem with that," he said.
"It bothers me what customers have had to go through," he said.
Recovery could be a long time coming, said the owner of a restaurant affected similarly in May.
That owner did not want to be quoted on the issue. "Please don't bring it up again," he said. "Our business is still not back."
by CNB