The Metro Public Health Department in Nashville, TN confirmed today that an employee of the Outback Steakhouse Restaurant Rivergate, located at 1560 Gallatin Pike N, Madison 37115, just outside of Nashville, tested positive for hepatitis A.

Image/KDH
Image/KDH

This has prompted health officials to offer a special clinic to offer free Hepatitis A vaccine through Monday.

The vaccine clinic will be available at the Lentz Public Health Center (2500 Charlotte Ave.) on the following dates and times to those who dined at that location on December 22nd-24th.  The potential exposure occurred only at Outback Steakhouse Restaurant’s Rivergate location.  Individuals who dined at the restaurant on those dates have until January 7th to be vaccinated.

Hepatitis A in the US: More than 10,000 cases reported to CDC in 2018

Hepatitis A Vaccination Clinic
Lentz Public Health Center
2500 Charlotte Avenue
Nashville, Tennessee

  • January 3rd:  8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
  • January 4th:  8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
  • January 5th:  10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
  • January 7th:  8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Metro Public Health Department officials have confirmed 161 cases of hepatitis A have been reported in Nashville since December 2017.

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Tennessee state health officials have reported 597 cases, including two deaths in the past year.

Hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus. Common symptoms include: fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, jaundice (yellowing of eyes and skin), and clay-colored stools. The disease can be severe in some people, possibly requiring hospitalization. Most recover completely within a few weeks.

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Hepatitis A usually spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food, or drinks contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool from an infected person. Hepatitis A can also spread from close personal contact with an infected person such as through sex or caring for someone who is ill. The best way to prevent hepatitis A is through vaccination.

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