WAIKOLOA — Employees at a Waikoloa fast food and catering restaurant have been ordered to undergo blood testing after one employee tested positive for hepatitis A earlier this month.
WAIKOLOA — Employees at a Waikoloa fast food and catering restaurant have been ordered to undergo blood testing after one employee tested positive for hepatitis A earlier this month.
While the state Department of Health said customers who ate food from Sushi Shiono might have been exposed to the disease, the agency added the likelihood customers will be infected “is very low.”
Sushi Shiono management said Tuesday afternoon six employees’ tests already came back negative and the remaining 19 test results are expected today. State law requires anybody who is unvaccinated, handles food and had contact with a confirmed case to be tested and test negative for the virus before being able to return to work.
“Right now, we’re checking everybody,” said Taka Yokoyama, Sushi Shiono general manager and director, through a translator at the Waikoloa restaurant.
On Tuesday, the DOH announced an employee at the Waikoloa restaurant, located inside Island Gourmet Markets at Queens’ MarketPlace, tested positive for hepatitis A.
The store is one of three under the Sushi Shiono brand on the Big Island. Employees at other stores in Kailua-Kona and Mauna Lani are not being required to get tested.
The employee who was diagnosed reportedly has a history of exposure on Oahu and was working at the restaurant on several dates from July 5-21, the Health Department said.
Yokoyama said the employee is thought to have contracted the infection while she was on Oahu. The DOH indicated on its website that, at this time, no infections have been linked to exposure at any of the businesses identified as “places of interest,” including Sushi Shiono Waikoloa.
Yokoyama said the employee who contracted hepatitis A has worked at the store for about seven years and was working in food preparation at the store.
Sushi Shiono administrating manager Yuka Kawakami said the employee who was diagnosed is recovering and can only return to work when she tests negative for the infection.
Yokoyama added he is confident the food his restaurant serves is safe, saying he’s always had a good record with the Health Department.
“So far, the health department hasn’t instructed us on closing down,” he said.
The number of confirmed hepatitis A cases throughout the state — especially on Oahu — has been growing.
Since the outbreak began in mid-June, there have been 93 confirmed cases, 29 of which have required hospitalization. All cases have been in adults who were exposed to the virus while on Oahu. DOH continues to investigate and is working to identify the source of the outbreak, according to the Health Department.
“Preventing exposure from infected food handlers is difficult because patients with hepatitis A are most contagious one to two weeks before symptoms start,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park in a press release. “It is possible that other food service establishments will be affected with additional new cases.”
Symptoms of hepatitis A infection include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort, dark urine, diarrhea and yellow skin and eyes. Anyone exhibiting symptoms should stay home and contact their health care provider.
Kawakami said the DOH is only requiring employees at the Waikoloa restaurant to undergo testing at this time because they are the only ones who might have had contact with the woman who tested positive. In the meantime, Yokoyama said, employees from the company’s other locations are working at the Waikoloa store.
Kawakami said the company is trying to test all 98 employees across its three locations anyway. Yokoyama said the store would likely only need to close if more of its employees test positive.
He added that he hasn’t spoken with customers about the employee’s diagnosis, saying he wants to avoid creating a panic. However, he said, once he’s been assured all his employees have been screened and cleared, he’ll inform his customers.
The store offers sushi from a deli-style counter inside the grocery store.
The DOH said anybody who consumed food from the Waikoloa store from July 5-21 “may have been exposed to the disease;” however, the likelihood patrons will be infected “is very low.”
Still, the department said unvaccinated people should contact their health care provider about receiving the hepatitis A vaccine or immune globulin, which can provide some protection against infection if given with two weeks after exposure.
Email Cameron Miculka at cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com.