Hepatitis A is a highly contagious virus that affects the liver
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP -- A Hopewell Township resident has been infected with hepatitis A, health officials announced Friday.
Hepatitis A, a highly contagious virus that affects the liver, is spread by personal contact when hands are not washed after bathroom use or by contaminated food or water.
Symptoms can appear anywhere from two to six weeks after exposure and include jaundice, fever, fatigue, nausea, dark urine or clay-colored stools.
Each retail food establishment that was patronized by the infected resident during the incubation period has been visited by health department staff as a precaution. Inspections have found no indications that the restaurants transmitted the infection, officials said.
No other cases have been reported in the township, nor have there been any reports from other agencies of infected individuals who ate in the township.
The department said it would continue to monitor the situation.
A Hepatitis A outbreak hit Hamilton in late 2014 when a food handler at Rosa's Restaurant and Catering fell ill with the disease. In the months that followed, three people who ate at the restaurant contracted the disease.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.