Buffalo Wild Wings Worker May Have Spread Hepatitis A In Michigan

Health officials have confirmed a case of hepatitis A in a Buffalo Wild Wings employee in Warren, Michigan. According to the Macomb County Health Department, the restaurant was inspected on April 17 and has been approved to operate, but anyone who may have visited the location at 29287 Mound Rd. between March 24 and April 9 might be at risk.

Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection transmitted through contaminated food and water, or through other contact with an infected person, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms normally develop 15 to 50 days after exposure and can include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, clay-colored bowel movements, loss of appetite, fever, dark urine, and jaundice. Anyone experiencing these issues should seek medical attention as soon as possible.

If you visited this Buffalo Wild Wings location during the time window stated above, the health department suggests getting a hepatitis A vaccination if you're currently unvaccinated. This could prohibit the viral infection from spreading if received within 14 days after potential exposure.

In a statement to The Daily Meal, a spokesperson for Buffalo Wild Wings said: "DRH, a Buffalo Wild Wings franchise, learned that an employee isolated to the 29287 Mound Road location in Warren, Michigan became ill with Hepatitis A contracted from an outside source. We take food safety very seriously and immediately closed the restaurant and instituted a standard sanitization process. The restaurant reopened yesterday afternoon after receiving a clean bill of health from the Health Department inspector."

Over 800 cases of hepatitis A have been reported in Michigan since August 2016, and there are active outbreaks in several other states as well. The outbreak in Kentucky may have involved workers at Kroger and Waffle House — so this certainly isn't the first time a chain restaurant has been involved in a disease outbreak.