Hepatitis A Exposure Reported On Charlotte American Air Flight

CHARLOTTE, NC — More than a dozen passengers on a recent cross-country flight to Charlotte have been alerted by county health officials that they’ve possibly been exposed to Hepatitis A, according to reports.

The Mecklenburg County Health Department alerted 18 passengers who were on board American Airlines flight 1960 on Sept. 21 that originated in San Francisco that they should get a Hepatitis A vaccine, WSOC reported.

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.

Patch Editor Lanning Tallaferro contributed.