On March 8, 2018, the county health department said it was investigating a confirmed case of hepatitis A in a food service worker at the Cold Spot restaurant in Nitro. News reports called it the first confirmed case in Kanawha County in two years.
The department’s epidemiology and environmental health staff handled the investigation. The worker’s family and coworkers got the hepatitis A vaccine. Officials said the worker had followed good hygiene, including hand washing and glove use, and that mass vaccination was not needed.
People who had eaten at the restaurant in the past six weeks were asked to watch for symptoms such as stomach pain, nausea and tiredness. Anyone with those symptoms was told to call a doctor and the health department.
The case turned out to be an early one in a larger outbreak. Through the spring of 2018, more cases were found in Kanawha and Putnam counties, including several in food service workers.