Local Hepatitis A Cases Linked To La Mesa Restaurant

SAN DIEGO -- Health officials Wednesday investigated six cases of hepatitis A possibly linked to a La Mesa fast-food restaurant, according to the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health.

Public health officials are recommending that anyone who ate at the Chipotle on Fletcher Parkway between March 1 and April 22 and has symptoms of hepatitis A see a doctor to be screened for the disease.

Epidemiologists and officials with the DEH are interviewing restaurant employees and patients to determine the source of the infection.

"We don't yet know if the source was an ill person or contaminated food," said Gary Erbeck, director of the DEH.

Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer, said hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable illness and encouraged those who may have been exposed to the virus to talk to their doctors about getting immunized.

Hepatitis A is spread through poor hygiene and often when someone consumes contaminated food or water, according to the HHSA.

Symptoms of the disease include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal discomfort, dark urine, and jaundice, according to the HHSA.

There were 82 cases of hepatitis A in San Diego County last year, according to the HHSA.