Contact:
Nancy Braden
Health Communications Coordinator/PIO
303-239-7137
nbraden@jeffco.us

Jefferson County Public Health Environmental Health Specialists and Public Health Nurses have teamed up to increase awareness and prevention of Hepatitis A in the County, especially among workers who handle and serve food. The Food Safety and Hepatitis A Prevention Project will increase educational outreach to food handlers on hepatitis A and its prevention as well as provide opportunity to receive the hepatitis A vaccine at a greatly reduced cost.
Food handlers are asked to call 303-239-7007.

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that is spread from person to person. The disease can cause both mild illness that lasts a few weeks and severe illness lasting several months. Hepatitis A is spread when a person ingests fecal matter from contact with food or drinks or objects contaminated by the feces or stool from an infected person. Because outbreaks have been traced to foods contaminated by infected food workers it is important to educate food handlers about the risks of Hepatitis A.

Food-handlers can prevent the spread of Hepatitis A by washing hands thoroughly, avoiding bare-hand contact with ready to eat foods, and not working when sick. 

The Food Safety and Hepatitis A Prevention Project is made possible in part through grant funding awarded to JCPH from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Jefferson County Environmental Health Specialists and Public Health Nurses have partnered to make the project possible from November, 2009 through October 2010.

For more information:

Food Safety – Jefferson County Public Health: http://www.co.jefferson.co.us/health/health_T111_R48.htm

Immunizations – Jefferson County Public Health
http://www.co.jefferson.co.us/health/health_T111_R117.htm

Hepatitis A – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HepatitisA.htm

Preventing Contamination from Bare Hands
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/regulations/consumer/101002RetailFood.pdf