ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. -- People who ate at Al-E-Oops in Lancaster and/or the Brookdale Williamsville assisted living facility in mid-to-late January might have been exposed to Hepatitis A.

Erie County officials learned Monday a foodservice worker employed at both locations tested positive for the illness but they stress the risk of exposure is very low.

An estimated 311 customers at Al-E-Oops might have been exposed between January 27 and 31. At Brookdale, an estimated 35 residents and 40 staff and visitors might have been exposed between January 16 and 22.

In response, the Erie County Department of Health is hosting a vaccination clinic for Al-E-Oops patrons at the Bowmansville Fire Company, 36 Main Street in Lancaster, from 3-8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 7. People are encouraged to register for a time slot for vaccination via the Erie County website.

As for residents and visitors to the assisted living facility, the county will review visitor logs and will provide vaccinations on-site.

Both Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein reiterated that the employee is not currently working in either location and is likely on sick leave.

Symptoms of Hepatitis A include tiredness, poor appetite, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and fever followed by dark-colored urine, light-colored stool and the yellowing of eyes and skin. It takes “a couple of weeks” for symptoms to develop, Burstein said.  

The illness is transmitted through oral-fecal transmission, through eating contaminated food or water, sexual intercourse or other close contact with an infected individual. There is no treatment for Hepatitis A; the illness typically runs its course and the person recovers without any long-term effects, she said.

Anyone who begins to show symptoms of the illness should contact their primary care physician and call the county’s Department of Health at 716-858-2929.

Vaccination can be effective if administered within a window of time following exposure, which is why people who ate at either facility within those dates — Jan. 16 to 22 for Brookdale, Jan. 27 to 31 for Al-E-Oops — are encouraged to get treated. People who ate at Brookdale or Al-E-Oops either before or after the window of exposure will not benefit from a vaccine, Burstein said.

The restaurant had completed a routine health inspection in December and passed with no major issues or concerns. A follow-up inspection is underway in light of the worker’s illness, Poloncarz said.

“There is no continued risk of Hepatitis A transmission,” Burstein said. “The individual is not working there anymore, there’s no further risk of transmission from eating at either facility.”

A statement from Al-E-Oops reads:

"The owners of Al-E-Oops are first concerned for our co-worker and our patrons. We hope and expect that he will recover quickly and fully, and no one else who worked at or visited our restaurant will contract this disease.

"As our county leaders said, there is only a very small change that people can catch the illness due to this potential exposure. We have and will continue to cooperate with all health officials. And, as always, we will operate our restaurant to the highest health and safety standards, as we have – without any similar prior incident – since we opened in 1984."

The employee reportedly practiced correct food safety techniques, including washing their hands and wearing gloves appropriately, she said.