Hepatitis A exposure alert issued for McDonald's location in Vancouver

Vancouver Coastal Health is warning diners at a McDonald's restaurant of a possible exposure to hepatitis A.

A possible exposure occurred on multiple dates between April 19 and May 9 at a McDonald'slocated at 3695 Lougheed Hwy. on the border of Vancouver and Burnaby.

Dates and times are:

• April 19,8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• April 21,12 p.m. to7:30 p.m.
• April 23, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• April 26, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• April 27, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• April 28, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• April 29, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• April 30, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• May 2, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• May 4, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• May 8, 6 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• May 9, 6 a.m.to 9 a.m.

The health authority says the risk of transmission to the public is low, but anyone who ateat this location at those timesshould monitor themselves for symptoms, which can take two to seven weeks to develop and last about two months.

Symptoms include:

• Feeling very tired.
• Feeling sick to your stomach and not feeling hungry.
• Weight loss.
• Pain on the right side of the belly, under the rib cage.
• Fever.
• Sore muscles.
• Yellow skin and eyes (jaundice), dark urine, and clay-coloured stools.

Anyone with symptoms of hepatitis A should see theirhealth-care provider, VCH says. The infection usually goes away on its own, but on rare occasionscan be more serious.

Getting immunized with adose of hepatitis A vaccine can help prevent infection if administeredwithin two weeks of exposure, the health authority said. It recommends those who dined at the restaurantbetween April 29 and May 9 get a hepatitis A vaccine.

Those who have previously been infected with hepatitis A or who received two doses of hepatitis A vaccine prior to the exposure are considered protected.