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According to the Health Department, an employee of the Winston restaurant in Mount Kisco with Hepatitis A worked while infectious, potentially exposing patrons from April 17 to May 1. The restaurant is located at 130 E Main St, in Mount Kisco.
Winston is cooperating with the Health Department and is voluntarily closing to conduct a thorough cleaning. After the staff has been vaccinated and the restaurant has been re-inspected and approved by the Westchester County Department of Health, the restaurant will reopen.
The department is offering free preventive treatment Tuesday, May 7, through Friday, May 10, to individuals who ate or drank at Winston between April 23 and May 1.
Preventive treatment is only effective if given within two weeks of the last day of exposure. Therefore, those who were at the restaurant on April 23 must receive preventive treatment today, Tuesday, May 7.
Those who dined on April 24 through May 1 have more time, but must receive preventive treatment within two weeks of their exposure, the department said.
Anyone who was at the restaurant from April 17 to April 21 is outside the period for preventative treatment and should contact their health care provider.
Visitors to the restaurant with a prior history of Hepatitis A vaccination or Hepatitis A infection does not need to be treated.
The health department will offer preventive treatment at the Health Department Clinic, 134 Court Street, White Plains, on the following dates and times:
- · Tuesday, May 7, 10 a.m.to 4 p.m., walk-in
- · Wednesday, May 8, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., pre-register online
- · Thursday, May 9, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., pre-register online
- · Friday, May 10, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., pre-register online
A parent/guardian to provide consent must accompany anyone under 18 years of age.
Advance registration for the county preventive clinic is highly recommended. To register, go to www.health.ny.gov/gotoclinic/60.
If wanted, visitors to the restaurant can also receive treatment at their own health care provider.
Although those who dined at the restaurant between April 17 and April 21 are outside the window to receive preventive treatment, they should contact their health care provider immediately if they experience symptoms so that anyone they may have exposed can receive preventive treatment.
“I urge anyone who is eligible for treatment to get a Hepatitis A vaccine," said Dr. Sherlita Amler, commissioner of Health. "There are no special medications used to treat a person once symptoms appear, but Hepatitis A transmission to others can be prevented through proper handwashing.”
Hepatitis A is transmitted by consuming food or drinks or by using utensils that have been handled by an infected person. It may also be spread from person to person by ingesting something that has been contaminated with the stool of a person with Hepatitis A. Casual contact, such as sitting together, does not spread the virus.
Hepatitis A is generally a mild illness whose symptoms include fatigue, fever, poor appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dark urine, light-colored stool, and jaundice, which is the yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. Not everyone infected with Hepatitis A will have all of its symptoms.
Symptoms commonly appear within 28 days of exposure, with a range of 15 to 50 days. Preventive treatment is only effective within two weeks of exposure to the virus, but symptoms typically do not appear until a person has had the virus for a few weeks.
The illness is rarely fatal and most people recover in a few weeks without any complications.
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