Hep A Exposure Possible At Westchester Restaurant

MOUNT KISCO, NY — The Westchester County Health Department announced Monday that an employee with Hepatitis A worked at Winston restaurant in Mount Kisco while infectious. Anyone who was at the restaurant from April 17 through May 1 may have been exposed.

The health department is offering free preventive treatment this week to individuals who ate or drank at Winston between April 23 and May 1. Preventive treatment is only effective if given within two weeks of the last day of exposure. Therefore, those who dined on April 23 must receive preventive treatment by Tuesday, May 7.

Those who dined on April 24 through May 1 have more time, but must receive preventive treatment within two weeks of their exposure, health officials said.

Anyone who was at the restaurant from April 17 to April 21 is outside the period for preventative treatment and should contact their health care provider.

No one with a prior history of Hepatitis A vaccination or Hepatitis A infection needs to be treated. The health department will offer preventive treatment at the Health Department Clinic, 134 Court Street, White Plains, on the following dates and times:

• Tuesday, May 7, 10 a.m.to 4 p.m., walk-in
• Wednesday, May 8, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., pre-register online
• Thursday, May 9, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., pre-register online
• Friday, May 10, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., pre-register online

A parent/guardian to provide consent must accompany anyone under 18 years of age.

Advance registration for the county preventive clinic is highly recommended. To register, go to here. Health care providers can also treat restaurant patrons who were exposed.

Although those who dined at the restaurant between April 17 and April 21 are outside the window to receive preventive treatment, they should contact their health care provider immediately if they experience symptoms so that anyone they may have exposed can receive preventive treatment.

Sherlita Amler, MD, commissioner of health, said she urges anyone who is eligible for treatment to get a Hepatitis A vaccine.

"There are no special medications used to treat a person once symptoms appear, but Hepatitis A transmission to others can be prevented through proper hand washing,” she said.

Hepatitis A is transmitted by consuming food or drinks or by using utensils that have been handled by an infected person. It may also be spread from person to person by ingesting something that has been contaminated with the stool of a person with Hepatitis A. Casual contact, such as sitting together, does not spread the virus.

Hepatitis A is generally a mild illness whose symptoms include fatigue, fever, poor appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dark urine, light colored stool and jaundice, which is the yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. Not everyone infected with Hepatitis A will have all of its symptoms.

Symptoms commonly appear within 28 days of exposure, with a range of 15 to 50 days. Preventive treatment is only effective within two weeks of exposure to the virus, but symptoms typically do not appear until a person has had the virus for a few weeks. The illness is rarely fatal and most people recover in a few weeks without any complications.

Winston is cooperating with the Health Department and is voluntarily closing Tuesday to conduct a thorough cleaning. After the staff have been vaccinated and the restaurant has been re-inspected and approved by the Westchester County Department of Health, the restaurant will reopen.

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