SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - County health officials are warning customers of a Pacific Beach restaurant that they may have been exposed to a person with hepatitis A on several specific dates and times.
Health officials said they believe people who consumed food or beverages at World Famous restaurant (711 Pacific Beach Drive) might have been exposed on the following dates and time periods:
-- August 28, 29, 30: Between 3 p.m.-11 p.m.
-- Sept. 3, 4: Between 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
-- Sept. 10, 11: From 3 p.m.-11 p.m.
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San Diego County health officials confirmed the patient worked at World Famous while infected. Erik Berkley, general manager of World Famous, issued the following statement:
First and foremost World Famous restaurant would like to thank all of our loyal guests and reassure them that food safety and sanitation is of the utmost importance to our establishment. In conjunction with San Diego County Health Department World Famous is taking all steps necessary to combat this city wide issue. Since being notified by San Diego County Health Department of a potential exposure we immediately conducted the following:
We closed our restaurant immediately
We hired a professional HAZMAT crew to clean and sanitize our restaurant at a very high level, that crew was on sight within 2 hours of being notified and worked through the night to get their job done
We have whole heartedly complied with any and all requests made by San Diego County Health Department and will continue to do so
The individual in question has been removed from the establishment
We understand the severity of this issue and will do everything we can to ensure a safe environment for all
County health officials stressed that there is no known risk of hepatitis exposure at the restaurant now or on other dates.
"The risk to the public is low, but anyone who ate or had beverages at the restaurant on those dates and times should be aware of the signs and symptoms of hepatitis A," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer. "We encourage anyone who has not had the hepatitis A vaccine and those who may have been exposed to contact their health care provider."
Dr. Wooten said the Centers for Disease Control will genotype the blood of the patient to see if the case is linked to San Diego's hepatitis A outbreak.
