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Town, county respond to hepatitis A scare
The warning went out after store management learned an employee from the produce department at the 5275 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville location had tested positive for the disease. A Shoppers Club Card holder, Voigt was one of more than 80,000 members notified - those who had purchased produce from the location during the at-risk time period, from Jan. 7 to Feb. 4. "I had bought just one bunch of bananas during my lunch break," she said, adding that the store is not where she usually grocery shops. At 7 p.m. Saturday, along with her husband and son, 16, she went to Erie Community College's North Campus to wait in line for a vaccination. "We stood in line for two and a half hours, but what surprised me was how well people were taking it," she said. "No one was angry. They understood Wegmans was showing its responsibility to the community."
She finally returned home at 10 p.m. From Wegmans to the Erie County Department of Health, Voigt said the situation was handled efficiently. Wegmans was able to tell her if other fruit she had was purchased from that location. Luckily it hadn't been. Voigt was one of thousands who stood in line for the vaccination at ECC. The college is a county-designated POD - a point of dispensing site, Greg Skibitsky, commissioner of medical services for the county, said. As of Tuesday, 6,958 vaccinations had been administered, and another clinic was scheduled for eight hours that day. A final hepatitis A vaccination clinic will be held from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13 at ECC north, Main Street and Youngs Road. "Based on turnout at our clinic (Tuesday), members of my public health and emergency management teams feel the need exists to extend the clinic an additional and final day" stated Erie County Executive Chris Collins in a release to The Amherst Bee. Throughout the ordeal officials have reiterated that that risk of exposure is low. Anyone who purchased produce at the Sheridan Drive location between Jan. 7 and Feb. 4 and ate it, raw or uncooked, in the past 14 days (since Jan. 29) is potentially at risk and able to receive a vaccination. If the food was eaten more than 14 days ago (before Jan. 29) then residents should watch for symptoms of hepatitis A, which includes: • Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) Symptoms usually last less than two months, and some people may be ill for as long as six months. The average incubation period for hepatitis A is 28 days and can happen from 15 to 50 days after exposure. Wegmans disposed of all its produce and sanitized the area, Skibitsky said. "We have enough vaccine and will run the clinic as long as we need to for those who have potentially consumed contaminated produce," he said. There is a two-week window for receiving the vaccination which ends at midnight Feb. 18. Dr. Heather Lindstrom, epidemiologist with Erie County's Department of Health, said that usually a handful of cases are reported each year in Erie County, and they are always a single case. "That makes it hard to track," she said, adding that there was no information available about how the employee contracted it. "What's important to get out there is, they needed to have consumed raw produce between the dates (Jan. 7- Feb. 4)," she said. Anyone who believes they are at risk and was not vaccinated at one of the clinics, can call the New York State Department of Health Call Center at 1-800-808-1987. For Wegmans-related questions, call 1-800-564-8260. Individuals may also call 211 for further information. Information about hepatitis A can be found at www.erie.gov. |
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