Health officials involved in the Illinois McDonald's hepatitis A outbreak investigation have acknowledged that restaurant employees have been a focus of the probe. Now one of the Milan, Illinois, McDonald's employees has told a local television station that she was diagnosed with the disease in mid-June and informed her McDonald's manager of her illness on June 25. But the restaurant didn't close until last week, raising questions about who knew what and when. National food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker explores the circumstances as part of his latest opinion piece. Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is currently accepting cases from the Illinois McDonald's outbreak. To reach a hepatitis lawyer at the firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete an online form to receive a free case consultation from an attorney.

By Fred Pritzker

I represent survivors of foodborne illness including clients sickened with hepatitis A at restaurants.

Hep A is an acute liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV) that lasts from a few weeks to several months. Although it does not lead to chronic infection, it causes significant and debilitating symptoms and requires precautionary measures to prevent its spread to family members.

In a restaurant setting, Hep A is transmitted by consuming food or drinks contaminated with fecal matter. This usually occurs when a restaurant worker sickened with Hep A goes to work while still contagious and fails to properly wash his/her hands while preparing food served to paying customers like you.

In most cases, this is an utterly preventable disease. Workers exhibiting symptoms of Hep A should not work until cleared by a physician. Restaurant managers should not allow symptomatic employees on the premises.

Thus, it's particularly distressing to see reports of a Hep A outbreak involving a Milan, Illinois, McDonald's in which an estimated 10,000 patrons have been potentially exposed to the virus. Worse, according to WQAD-TV of the Quad Cities, a McDonald's employee diagnosed with hepatitis A told her manager at McDonald's of her diagnosis on June 25. Despite this, the restaurant giant claims it didn't learn of the diagnosis until July 13, following which the restaurant was closed.

I've recently written about proposed new food safety rules designed to reduce the incidence and severity of foodborne illness outbreaks -- including this one it would seem. Generally speaking they are not due to bad policies and procedures but rather gross failure to properly enforce them.

McDonald's is one of the best run food companies in the world. Its employee handbooks specifically instruct employees to:

• Call in if you are ill. Don't come to work when you are sick, such as a with a severe cold or you are suffering from diarrhea or vomiting. You are at a higher risk for transferring bacteria to food or others.
• If you start to feel ill, tell your manager. Good health is important throughout your shift. You are as at a higher risk for transferring bacteria to food or others.

But all the best policies and procedures won't make a restaurant safe if managers ignore the rules or fail to enforce them. Sadly, the only real incentive is public approbation and financial loss. Apparently, the health of customers is not incentive enough.

Labels: Campylobacter, class action lawsuit, hep outbreak, hepatitis A, hepatitis lawyer, Milan