An employee with hepatitis A has possibly passed on the contagious disease to as many as 5,000 people in a Missouri restaurant, health officials said Wednesday.
With May 16 being the Red Robin employee's last working day, an inspection by the Springfield-Greene County Health Department has deemed the restaurant safe, CNN reported.
Although the New Jersey-based restaurant chain didn't confirm the area of the infected restaurant, diners who ate there between May 8 and 16 were instructed to call the health department for information about the next steps.
"It scared me because my husband has been sick," Andrea Hall, a Red Robin customer, told CNN affiliate KOLR. "And a lot of his symptoms match the symptoms of that, a red flag just went off and I was like what do I do from here."
Hepatitis A is usually transmitted via contaminated food or water, or by someone who's infected, according to the Mayo Clinic. In order to limit the spread, frequent hand washing is recommended.
The liver gets inflamed by the highly contagious infection, restricting its ability to function.
While mild cases don't require treatment and Mayo Clinic officials say most of those infected recover completely with no permanent liver damage, severe cases can lead to liver failure and death, according to the World Health Organization.
Fever, nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine and clay-colored bowel movements are some of the symptoms, health officials in Springfield said.
"All workers at the Red Robin have since been inoculated with an immune globulin prophylaxis shot, the restaurant chain said," according to CNN. "The health department will run a two-day vaccination clinic at Remington's, a venue that hosts concerts and trade shows. On its Facebook page, the entertainment complex said 4,000 doses of a vaccine were being shipped there."
A two-step vaccine that was first introduced in the United States in 1995 has been given to many people already.
Thousands of more customers might have been exposed to the virus, as the infected employee had been working for Red Robin for several months, CNN affiliate KYTV reported.
