Marble Slab Creamery Hepatitis A Risk
A food handler at Marble Slab Creamery in Katy, Texas, has tested positive for hepatitis A, a viral foodborne pathogen that can cause serious injury and death in the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. According to a story on KHOU, Channel 11 news, “People who may have eaten at the Marble Slab between Feb. 1 and Feb. 25 should watch for any symptoms of the disease.”
Symptoms of hepatitis A usually occur abruptly and may include: fever, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, light-colored stools, and dark urine. Another possible symptom, the yellowing of the skin and eyes, is called jaundice.
The first hepatitis A symptoms can appear from 15 to 50 days after the initial infection. The average length of time between infection and the first appearance of symptoms (this is called the incubation period) is about a month. Unfortunately, infected individuals are most contagious in the middle of the incubation period, weeks before any sign of symptoms. Hepatitis A sufferers are usually contagious for about a week after they become jaundiced.