Case of Hepatitis A Confirmed in Target Pharmacy Employee

By Bay City News Service

A Target pharmacy employee who works at store locations in Alameda County handled medications after being infected with hepatitis A by tainted berries sold at Costco stores, Alameda County health officials said today (Wednesday).

The employee who works at pharmacies at store locations in San Leandro and on Whipple Road in Hayward potentially exposed customers to the illness between May 5 and May 24.

The county public health department has recommended that the pharmacies contact customers who had prescriptions filled by the employee during that time period when the person was likely contagious.

Health officials said transmission of the disease was likely low, however customers are advised to stop taking medications that could have been handled by the infected employee.

Customers who took medicine filled by the ill employee are advised to see a doctor and get a hepatitis A vaccination if they are not immunized.

The employee contracted the disease from a frozen berry product recalled from Costco stores that was linked to several Hepatitis A cases in the Bay Area, including the Target employee, one in Contra Costa County and one in Santa Clara County.

The Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend of frozen berries sold at Costco Wholesale warehouses has also been linked to dozens of confirmed hepatitis A cases in five states including California, health officials said.

Hepatitis A symptoms can include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, joint pain, pale stool and jaundice.

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