List Grows Of Diners Exposed To Hepatitis; Health District Offers Shots

Health officials have added more diners to the list of those who may have been exposed to hepatitis A last month at a Mexican restaurant in Coeur d’Alene.

Anyone who ate at Las Chavelas on Sunset Avenue on Sept. 24 or Sept. 29 may have been exposed to the virus, the Panhandle Health District said Tuesday.

The announcement brings to six the number of days when diners could have been exposed to a waitress with the illness. The other days are Sept. 18, 19, 20 and 22. Health officials believe as many as 1,200 people may have been exposed to the virus at Las Chavelas.

On Friday, the health district is offering a free clinic for those who ate at the restaurant on the 22nd, 24th or 29th.

Diners should go to the district office, 2195 Ironwood Court, between 2 and 6 p.m. to get an injection of immune globulin. The serum reduces symptoms from the virus.

The globulin would be useless for people exposed to the virus more than two weeks ago, said the health district’s Steve McMillan.

The district gave the shots to roughly 400 of those people Monday.

Hepatitis A is a liver infection characterized by loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, aching and fever. Symptoms generally last two weeks.

, DataTimes