RIGA - A restaurant in Riga's Old Town has admitted that one of its former employees infected more than three dozen people with hepatitis A.
Stella Pub, a popular chain of sports themed restaurant/bars, infected a total of 41 people with the virus. One of the restaurant's former chefs who had come down with the disease passed it on to customers through contaminated food.
The woman who worked in the old town pub did not know she was infected, Stella Pub Director Nauris Graveris told LETA.
Laura Budele, head of the Public Health Service's public relations department, said the virus was probably spread when one of the restaurants employees failed to wash his or her hands before handling food.
"We believe that one of the workers at Stella Pub was sick with the virus and continued working instead of seeking treatment," Budele told TBT.
"The virus must have been spread by the worker using the restroom and not washing their hands afterwards. This infected the food they were working with as well as the people eating the food," she said.
The Public Health Service initially began investigating seven cases of the illness, but numerous people came forward with health complaints after hearing of the outbreak.
All of the people who were infected have been placed in the hospital and are receiving treatment. Budele said the victims would most likely not suffer any long term damage.
"Hepatitis A is completely curable and all the people infected should get better soon, but the hygiene standards of the restaurant are still in question," she said.
Stella Pub, located at Skunu Street 19, the alleged site of the infections, was shut down on April 22 pending the results of lab tests on the virus. The fate of the restaurant now hinges on the test results.
"Nothing is certain yet, but when we get the lab results in, we'll get together with the city board and figure out an appropriate fine and whether they will be allowed to reopen," Food and Veterinary Service Public Relations head Ilze Meistare said.
Stella Pub's manager, Andris Brucis, said the restaurant is still trying to figure out exactly what happened but that he hopes the Skunu address will be allowed to reopen.
The restaurant's two other locations continued to work as normal, according to the establishment's Web site.
"The important thing about these allegations is that we're trying to get the facts straight and objectively. We're still working on clearing up the facts from our side. The decision from the Public Health Services should come in the next week or so, and then we'll be able to reopen," Brucis said.
However, TV5 reported that two victims were considering suing the establishment for the costs of health care and lost income.
Inguna Libaze, a health inspector, told the station that Stella Pub was also facing a 3,000 lat (4,280 euro) fine for violating sanitary regulations.
Hepatitis A, also known as HAV, is an infectious liver disease. It is normally spread through fecal-oral contact and is most commonly contracted by contaminated food and drink.
A highly successful vaccine has almost completely eliminated the disease in the developed world, while infection in some undeveloped regions is still nearly 100 percent.
The virus has an incubation period of two to six weeks. It is very rarely fatal.
