Health district provides clarity on restaurant Hepatitis A case

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - WDBJ7 has been working to learn more about the Hepatitis case reported at a Roanoke restaurant.

Dr. Cynthia Morrow with the Roanoke City - Alleghany Health Districts joined us on the Digital News Desk to clarify.

She said the situation stemming from Luigi’s Gourmet Italian Restaurant is low-risk and not urgent because the employee did not handle ready-to-eat food.

Our of an abundance of caution, the Health district is offering Hepatitis A vaccines to people who ate at the restaurant on specific days.

“We have a two-week window after exposure in which administering Hepatitis A vaccine can actually prevent the disease - decrease the risk of getting the disease- if you were in fact exposed,” she explained.

Those days are April 30, May 1, May 3, May 6, May 8 or May 12 (a more defined set of dates than originally released by the health department).

Dr. Morrow said Thursday the health district is getting more Hepatitis A vaccines Friday.

You can also contact your health care provider to inquire about the vaccine.

You can learn more about the cases of Hepatitis A in the Roanoke-Alleghany Health Districts here.

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