WAIKOLOA — Employees at a Waikoloa fast food and catering restaurant have been ordered to undergo blood testing after one employee tested positive for hepatitis A earlier this month.
While the Department of Health said customers who ate food from Sushi Shiono in Waikoloa may have been exposed to the disease, the agency added that the likelihood customers will be infected “is very low.”
Sushi Shiono management said Tuesday afternoon six employees’ tests have already come back negative and the remaining 19 test results are expected today. State law requires that only those who have tested negative for the infection be allowed to return to work.
“Right now we’re checking everybody,” said Taka Yokoyama, Sushi Shiono general manager and director, through a translator at the Waikoloa restaurant.
On Tuesday, the Hawaii State Department of Health announced that an employee at Sushi Shiono’s Waikoloa location, which sits inside Island Gourmet Markets at Queens’ MarketPlace, tested positive for hepatitis A.
The store is one of three under the Sushi Shiono brand. Employees at other stores in Kailua-Kona and Mauna Lani are not being required to get tested.
The employee who was diagnosed reportedly has a history of exposure in Oahu and had been working at the restaurant on several dates between July 5-21, said the department.
Yokoyama said the employee is believed to have contracted the infection while she was on Oahu. The Department of Health indicated on its website that, at this time, no infections have been linked to exposure at any of the businesses identified as “places of interest” on the agency’s website, including Sushi Shiono Waikoloa.
Yokoyama said the employee who contracted hepatitis A has worked at the store for about seven years and was working in food preparation.
Shiono Sushi administrating manager Yuka Kawakami said the employee who was diagnosed is recovering and may only return to work when her test returns a negative reading.
Yokoyama added that he is confident the food his restaurant serves is safe, saying he’s always had a good record with the state’s health department. The store has three locations on the Big Island as well as a sister location in Japan, according to the company’s website.
“So far, the health department hasn’t instructed us on closing down,” he said.
Hawaii state law requires anybody who is unvaccinated, handles food and has had contact with a confirmed case to be tested and return a negative test result before they can return to work, according to the Department of Health.
The number of confirmed hepatitis A cases has been growing.
Since the outbreak began in mid-June, there have been 93 confirmed cases of hepatitis A, 29 of which have required hospitalization. All cases have been in adults who were on Oahu during their exposure periods. DOH continues to investigate and is working to identify the source of infection for this outbreak. The source of infection for the entire outbreak hasn’t been identified, according to the department.
“Preventing exposure from infected food handlers is difficult because patients with hepatitis A are most contagious one to two weeks before symptoms start,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park in a press release. “It is possible that other food service establishments will be affected with additional new cases.”
Symptoms of hepatitis A infection include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort, dark urine, diarrhea, and yellow skin and eyes. Individuals, including food service employees, exhibiting symptoms of hepatitis A should stay home and contact their health care provider.
Kawakami said the Department of Health is only requiring employees at the Waikoloa location to undergo testing at this time because they are the only ones who might have had contact with the woman in question. In the meantime, Yokoyama said, employees from the company’s other locations are working at the Waikoloa store.
However, Kawakami said, the company is trying to test all 98 employees across their three locations anyway. Yokoyama said the store would likely only need to close if more employees at the store test positive for hepatitis A.
He added that he hasn’t spoken with customers about the employee’s diagnosis, saying he wants to avoid creating a panic. However, he said, once he’s been assured all his employees have been screened and cleared, he’ll inform his customers.