Restaurants Warn of Hepatitis Threat

County health officials are seeking people who may have eaten at two Jack in the Box restaurants, one in Poway and one in Mira Mesa, while a worker infected with hepatitis served food there.

Persons who ate uncooked items such as lettuce, tomatoes or pickles during certain dates may have been exposed to the virus and should immediately see their doctors to determine whether they need a gamma globulin shot.

Those dates and times are:

At the Jack in the Box at 12424 Poway Road, 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 25 and 26; noon to 8 p.m. March 28; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 29, and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. March 30. Also, at the Jack in the Box at 9380 Mira Mesa Blvd., from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 1.

The first signs of hepatitis are a sudden onset of fever, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea and abdominal discomfort, which may be followed within a few days by jaundice, or a yellowish color to the eyes and skin.

Gamma globulin is only effective against infectious hepatitis if taken with two weeks of exposure. The symptoms take from 15 to 50 days to develop.