Public health alert after Nanaimo, B.C., Superstore cashier gets hepatitis A

A public health alert has been issued after a cashier at a Nanaimo, B.C., grocery store tested positive for hepatitis A.

Vancouver Island's health authority says immunizations will be offered to employees of Superstore and any shoppers who may have been exposed.

Island Health says those who purchased and ate raw produce or unwrapped food on several dates in the past two weeks should get the vaccine as a precaution.

A drop-in immunization clinic will be held for the Superstore employees and eligible members of the public on Saturday at a recreation centre, and those who can't make it should contact their local public health unit.

Hepatitis A is a virus that affects the liver and can be spread through close personal contact or contaminated food that has been handled by an infected person.

Dr. Paul Hasselback of Island Health says cases of hepatitis A on Vancouver Island are rare, especially in situations where the person's job has the potential to expose lots of people.

Those dates of concern include the afternoon and evening of Feb. 25, 26 or 27; all day March 1; or the evening of March 4.