Individuals who attended a cooking demonstration at Ace Hardware in Rome on June 1 and June 8 may have been exposed to hepatitis A, according to a warning from the Oneida County Health Department. The health department stated that a person with hepatitis A who was infectious at the time prepared and cooked food during the demonstration, putting individuals who consumed the food at risk of infection.
The two-week window for preventive treatment has already passed for individuals who consumed the food on June 1. People who ate food in the store on June 8 can schedule a hepatitis A vaccine through their primary care doctor or the health department. The department is offering a vaccination clinic on Friday, June 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointment scheduling can be done through the Important Notices section on the ocgov.net website or by calling 315-798-5747 and selecting option 2.
Director of Health Daniel W. Gilmore emphasized that hepatitis A is preventable with a vaccine, urging those who were exposed but not yet vaccinated to do so as soon as possible to protect themselves from the disease. Symptoms typically appear between 15 to 50 days after exposure, with an average of 28 days being the most common
