Hillcrest Restaurant’s Patrons Warned of Hepatitis Threat From Infected Worker

Patrons who ate certain foods at Alberto’s Mexican Food restaurant at 409 Washington St. in Hillcrest from March 18 through Wednesday may develop Type A hepatitis unless they receive proper treatment, San Diego County health officials warned Friday.

Customers of the restaurant who ate raw lettuce, tomatoes, onions or salsa during that period, or who ate guacamole between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m., may have contracted the hepatitis from a restaurant worker who prepared those foods, said Nancy Bowen, acting county health officer for the Department of Health Services.

Restaurant patrons are advised to receive a gamma globulin shot, which boosts the body’s natural immune system, within two weeks of infection. “The shot arrests the symptoms,” said Elaine Schmidt, health educator for the health department.

The symptoms of the disease, which can take from 15 to 50 days to develop, include sudden fever, tiredness, nausea, abdominal discomfort and loss of appetite, followed in a couple of days by jaundice.

“There are people who may have been exposed but may not yet have symptoms. If you already have symptoms, there’s not much point in getting the gamma globulin. . . . If it’s past the two-week period, just get plenty of rest, eat well and don’t strain yourself. People can recover in as quickly as a week,” Schmidt said.

The virus can be transmitted through contaminated water, shellfish from contaminated water and by workers who do not have good hygiene habits, Schmidt said. “It’s transmitted fecal-to-food, so if someone doesn’t wash their hands after going to the bathroom, that’s how you can get it.”

The unidentified worker has not returned to work since Wednesday.