According to WTSP, a June 28 inspection from the Florida Department of Health confirmed that a former employee at Cafe Gala had contracted hepatitis A. Overall, Cafe Gala received 14 health code breeches, one major violation found was that the restaurant employees were not washing their hands enough.
So if you’ve grabbed a bite to eat at this popular St. Petersburg landmark within the last few weeks or so, you might want to visit your doctor.
“These agencies concluded that the exposure was a very low-level health threat as the past-employee was not involved in food preparation,” said a Dali Museum rep to the station. “Further, the agencies indicated that no further action from the state would take place, and no public health warning would result.”
They also stated that the employees at Cafe Gala received information about hepatitis A, and that many of the restaurant workers chose to get vaccinated out of precaution.
The Dali’s recent hep A case comes shortly after another case was confirmed at a nearby Wawa off of Tyrone Boulevard.
Both cases coincide with the skyrocketing rate of new hepatitis A cases throughout the Tampa Bay area. According to the state Department of Health, there have been 1,811 cases of hepatitis A in Florida this year, which is more than the total number of cases reported in all of 2018. This highly contagious virus has effects ranging from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months, with 30-39 year olds having the highest infection rate.
Hepatitis A can be spread through undetectable traces of an infected person’s fecal matter in objects, food, or drinks — in this case, a food service worker who has not washed their hands enough can put many people at risk for infection.
Follow @cl_tampabay on Twitter to get the most up-to-date news + views. Subscribe to our newsletter, too.
This article appears in Jul 4-11, 2019.