Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Charles Guest has urged shoppers, who purchased fresh food from a Foodworks store in Yarram, in eastern Victoria, to throw it away after a deli worker was diagnosed with Hepatitis A.
He said any deli items, fresh fruits and vegetables should be discarded. "Anyone who has bought ready-to-eat foods from the supermarket, particularly cold meats, smallgoods and pre-prepared salads from the delicatessen, should be aware of the signs and symptoms of hepatitis A," Professor Guest said.
"Between the 25th of April and the 9th of June, it's possible that food prepared at Foodworks in Yarram was contaminated by somebody who turns out to have had hepatitis A."
The manager of the regional supermarket, Dave Bansal, told ABC that the store was being decontaminated after their staff member was diagnosed.
He said the staff member had been to India recently and a week after resuming work, had taken ill. "After that she said she had hepatitis. We weren't sure if it was hepatitis, so she didn't come to work.
"The health department came today and we are doing everything they said to do, all the cleaning and everything," he said.
Professor Guest said hepatitis A was a viral infection of the liver, found in the faeces of an infected person.
This meant their hands could carry the virus after they had been to the toilet.
Symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, dark urine, and yellow skin and eyes (jaundice).
People who think they may have hepatitis A symptoms should seek medical advice or contact Nurse on Call on 1300 60 60 24.
