BIG TIME UPDATE: My friend just called me from the doctor, and it turns out, very surprisingly, that he actually has Hep B, NOT HEP A, which means that IT DID NOT COME FROM JOE’S. I REPEAT, HE DID NOT GET IT FROM JOE’S, and Joe’s is clear and great! Unfortunately, for my friend, his partner is apparently an active carrier for Hep B, and passed it on to him, since he was not vaccinated. Damn. But, that’s good for Joe’s! Perhaps I will go eat there today! Hooray! Which means, that everything that is written below (which I am going to heavily edit) is just for your informative purposes… This just shows the importance of getting vaccinated. Get vaccinated!
Alright, this may be gross for some of you, but it is important nonetheless. A good friend of mine (who shall remain nameless), called me two days ago because he noticed that he was jaundiced. In case you don’t know what that means, it meant that his skin and eyes had a distinct yellow tint to them. Basically, this isn’t normal, so he called me to get a public health professional’s perspective as to just what might be going on. Instantly, I thought that he must have hepatitis, because that is one of the major symptoms of the disease. But, I thought to myself that he probably didn’t, because it is difficult to catch, and one of his risk factors (having sex with men) isn’t really an issue, as he is in a committed relationship and they are monogamous apparently, this doesn’t matter if your partner is an active carrier of Hep B, and you are not vaccinated. Good to know.
But after hearing all of his symptoms, and doing a little research on my own, I pretty much came to the conclusion that it most likely was hepatitis, which sucks, but if it is A, it isn’t that bad. Seriously. He went to the doctor, and they are waiting on the test to see exactly what it actually is. (I may update when I find out from him — let me be clear here; it MAY be hepatitis A, the doctor and symptoms point to a pretty reasonable certainty that it is, but I am not confirming or denying that he is indeed positive for hepatitis A, and I am not conclusively saying that he definitely got it from this place; that is impossible to definitively say). But that is not why I am writing this. I am writing this, because we traced back his disease time-line (epidemiology is fun!), and I, and his doctor, are fairly certain (again, that is NOT 100%. Epidemiology is a science, and sometimes science is wrong. I am passing on the facts that I have: possible infection, and a possible source, nothing more) that he was infected through a food exposure at a specific restaurant in Atlanta. That would mean that this place has a potential contamination issue with hepatitis A, and well, should potentially be avoided until further investigation by the health department (which he called and is issuing an investigation). For the record, it is Joes on Juniper where my friend believes he was infected (but again not with 100% certainty, but with strong belief).
Now, I am not writing this to be mean, or to slander Joes in any way. Honestly, I love the place. I have eaten there many times, and will probably go back at some point in the future; that is, pending they solve this potential issue. I myself have been vaccinated for hepatitis A and B, but don’t really want to find myself being exposed to the virus through food, especially considering that the only way it is transmitted is through stool of an infected person.
I hope that the health department rushes in and does the right thing, but if they don’t, at least my readers know they may not want to eat there for a couple of weeks until the figure this whole thing out. I don’t know if this will bring a shitstorm down on me or not (it shouldn’t, because I am not confirming anything, I am giving you the facts that have been given to me), but I felt it was my duty as a solemn believer in public health and prevention to say something. Don’t eat the poop, and you won’t get sick. You would want to know if you were eating the poop right? Well, now you know you could be. I am fairly certain that this problem will be rectified (oh god) soon, and there is no need to panic, but better safe than sorry… At least hepatitis A isn’t that serious; but regardless, it isn’t something that I would want.
UPDATE: I felt the need to add some statements to what I wrote based on Garrett’s comment, because I don’t want it to be misconstrued as an official “this place has hepatitis” report; of which this IS NOT. I am merely passing on information that a friend of mine, whom I have no reason not to believe, has potentially been infected with hepatitis A, and based on all evidence and symptoms present, potentially infected at Joes. That does not mean that he was, but that is something that I am not qualified to definitively state or not.
We now know that it was indeed NOT Hep A, and did NOT come from Joe’s. Thank goodness for my friend that he now knows what he has, and thank goodness it wasn’t Joe’s, and we all know. Again, this was NEVER meant to be a definitive “alert”, it was merely me passing on potential information that I felt other people may want to be aware of. Now that it is a moot point, I will let you commence eating at the great establishment that is Joe’s on Juniper!! Seriously, it is a great place, and I for one, am glad that things are a-okay there! Hooray! Now, enough about this A and B shit… just get vaccinated, bitches.
Did you hear about bagged spinnach? http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=asn65PZWRp_k&refer=us
You’re already immune to Hep A&B? Great! Two less things you need to get done before going to nursing school.
John: that’s why I always like to wash the “pre-washed” bagged greens. You never know!
Sean: Oh yeah! As a gay man, we should all be vaccinated for both A and B, because they are the vaccine preventable ones, yo! I even worked on a “get vaccinated campaign in the past.
Duane, be very, very careful about saying something like that. Disease transmitted through contaminated food from a specific restaurant is an incredibly damaging allegation to make about that business. You could be held personally liable for making this claim and damages are very easy to prove in this case. If you can prove that the restaurant has a potential contamination issue, then you’re fine. I just wanted to warn you that you’re treading dangerous waters here. If this gets turned into an email forward and it’s traced back to you, it’d be a slam-dunk case unless you had undeniable proof.
From the infamous Cattlemen v. Oprah case:
(a) A person is liable as provided by Subsection (b) if:
(1) the person disseminates in any manner information relating to a perishable food product to the public;
(2) the person knows the information is false; and
(3) the information states or implies that the perishable food product is not safe for consumption by the public.
(b) A person who is liable under Subsection (a) is liable to the producer of the perishable food product for damages and any other appropriate relief arising from the person’s dissemination of the information. (§ 96.002)
In determining if information is false, the trier of fact shall consider whether the information was based on reasonable and reliable scientific inquiry, facts, or data. (§96.003)
Garrett, I hear you loud and clear, and honestly, that was one thing that made me almost not want to write the post; but, the person that I am referring to in the post actually works there, and can actually prove that he may have been infected with Hep A from eating there. He is still waiting for actual test results, but his doctor is 98% sure it is Hep A, and based on epidemiology, they are sure it from this event.
Perhaps I shall add a disclaimer to my post. Yes, yes I will.
Well, crap. I was hoping you didn’t have proof. I have to be at a birthday dinner there in about 4 hours. I guess I’ll order my wings extra-well-done.
And chances are, you won’t even be exposed, or, as I said above, it may even be a moot point; but, better safe than sorry.
Jesus, I don’t want to get sued, yo.
Another thing to consider here is that you just mentioned your friend works at the restaurant in question. It could be moot as your friend may not have any plans for anonimity, but if he does hope to remain anonymous to his employer and you’ve just publicly associated youself with the whistleblower, well that has an outside chance of getting messy. I don’t know the situation. Just pointing out possible pitfalls.
You should have used the word poop. It’s funnier that way - “stool” just sounds like my grandmother just wrote this entry.
Tony, I totally see your point, and I was conscious of leaving him out of the original post; but, he is confronting the place today, and being open and honest with them (which is the best thing to do). They will know from the source, and I guess that really “moots” him as a whistle-blower of sorts.
Shan: POOP!
Damn, I was about to head out to Joe’s on J for a poopburger this very night. Who knew that eating shit could make you sick?
This is a pretty timely post for me, as I just found out that my Hep B vaccine series, which I finished about 1999, no longer seems to be working. My doctor did some routine blood work recently as part of a physical and told me that my blood shows no trace of the Hep B antibodies. Damn! Well, I’m just glad I found out before I actually got the disease. I now have to either get a booster or the whole series again.
Thanks for posting this blog entry, Duane. To everyone who reads this blog, please educate yourselves about Hepatitis A, B, and C and get the vaccines for A and B. There is unfortunately no vaccine for C yet, but my doctor told me that C isn’t commonly sexually transmitted; it’s more likely to be caused by blood-to-blood contact.
Just to make it easier, here’s the link to the CDC’s Hepatitis page:
http://www.cdc.gov/NCIDOD/Diseases/Hepatitis/index.htm
Jake is SO right. Hep A and B are almost completely preventable through vaccine, so there is no reason not to get vaccinated!!!! That’s my PSA of the day.