Officials in Erie County, NY, announced Sunday that two precautionary public health clinics are being held in response to a recent confirmed case of Hepatitis A in a restaurant worker at Casa-di-Pizza in Buffalo, NY. The purpose of the clinics is to prevent infection to anyone who may have been exposed. “Dine-in patrons of Casa-di-Pizza during a specific timeframe may have been exposed to Hepatitis A virus,” said Dr. Gale Burstein, Erie County Commissioner of Health. “The risk of actually acquiring a Hepatitis A infection from consuming food or drink at Casa-di-Pizza is extremely low. Persons who have already completed the Hepatitis A vaccine series are not at risk of developing Hepatitis A virus infection from this potential exposure.” Persons who dined in and/or consumed food and drink from Casa-di-Pizza in Buffalo, NY, only on the dates below are candidates for Hepatitis A vaccine or immune globulin:

Only persons who consumed food/drink within the Casa-di-Pizza restaurant are affected. No take-out orders or bar food/drink were at risk. The Hepatitis A vaccine or immune globulin is only effective within two weeks of exposure to the virus. Patrons who ate at Casa-di-Pizza restaurant or banquet room on the specified dates (and have not been previously vaccinated against Hepatitis A) should receive the Hepatitis A vaccine or immune globulin as soon as possible. Point of Distribution Clinics Monday, March 23, 2015         Noon – 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, 2015        8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Buffalo Niagara Convention Center 153 Franklin St., Buffalo, PA Clinic preregistration is encouraged here, or attendees should bring their drivers’ license. For additional information about Hepatitis A and the clinics, residents can contact the Erie County Information Line at (716) 858-2929 beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 23, or visit here. Depending upon an individual’s age and health status, either the Hepatitis A vaccine or immune globulin may be indicated. Hepatitis A vaccine is administered via an injection in the arm, and immune globulin is generally administered into a large muscle mass such as the upper leg or hip area. Hepatitis A is a viral infection of the liver. Hepatitis A appears only as an acute or a newly occurring infection and does not become a chronic disease. It can range in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months. Hepatitis A is usually spread when a person ingests fecal matter — even in microscopic amounts — from contact with objects, food, or drinks contaminated by the feces, or stool, of an infected person. It can be spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated with the virus. Hepatitis A signs and symptoms typically do not appear until the individual has had the virus for a few weeks. These symptoms can be similar to those of a “flu-like” illness and may include fatigue, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, low-grade fever, abdominal pain or discomfort, dark urine, joint pain, clay-colored bowel movements, and yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice).