密歇根新闻广播 你是否应担心在密歇根东南部的餐馆染上甲型肝炎

 

All the snow and cold and even a bum¹ wrist from a recent fall didn't stop Otis Lee from his mission to get vaccinated². Using a cane³, Lee hobbled into the student center at the University of Detroit Mercy, where the Detroit Health Department has set up a vaccination⁴ clinic specifically for restaurant workers and food handlers.

Southeast Michigan is in the midst of a hepatitis A outbreak. The virus has infected at least 630 Michiganders so far.

Lee heard about the outbreak on the news.

"It concerns me. It doesn't worry me, but it concerns me," Lee said, "Anything that happens in the city that gave me all that I have concerns me, and I just want to make people aware that they need to be concerned too and get this shot."

Because there's a limited supply of the hepatitis A vaccine⁵, health officials have had to choose who to target. One of those groups is restaurant workers and food handlers.

That's why Lee is here. His corned beef sandwiches are a legend to many Detroiters. Lee ran Mr. FoFo's Deli for about three decades. In its heyday⁶, people lined up to get a taste of toasted rye bread, piled high with meat and topped with mustard.

Lee just reopened Mr. FoFo's after the deli was closed for a few years. No one at Mr. FoFo's has come down with hepatitis A and Lee wants to keep it that way. That's why he's insisting all his employees get the shot.

"I want to assure my customers that they're dealing⁷ with healthy people," Lee said.

Food handlers at seven Detroit locations have been diagnosed with hepatitis A since October.

We know that, because the Detroit Health Department has put out a public notice about every one of them.

"If there is a potential that someone could've exposed mass amounts of people that we don't have good contact information for those people, that's where you'll start to see these kinds of public announcements about specific restaurants," said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, who heads the Detroit Health Department.

But it's not just Detroit restaurants that have been touched by the virus.

Pizza joints⁸ in Southfield, Southgate and Grosse Pointe Woods have been affected⁹; a coffee shop in Monroe, a bar in Westland, an Indian restaurant in Ann Arbor¹⁰, a baker¹¹ in up in Mt. Pleasant.

Those are just the ones we know about.

Michigan Radio compiled all of the public notices local health departments released about confirmed cases of hepatitis A in food handlers since the outbreak began. Macomb and Ingham County have confirmed cases in food handlers, but decided¹² not to issue a public notice, so specific locations are unavailable in those counties.

Five food handlers working at five different locations in Macomb County have contracted hepatitis A. But the health department there decided not to publicize any of those cases. State law doesn't require a public notice.

Ingham County has had one that they didn't publicize either.

"There is no solid rule that says – if a food service worker is sick you must notify the public – and rightly so. We'd be notifying the public like crazy, all the time," said Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail.

Vail says they carefully consider the risk of transmission from that infected worker to the public before determining whether a public notice would help protect the public. As an example, Vail says the Ingham County health department did issue a major public notice when norovirus sickened more than 300 people at MSU last year.

But Vail says they don't want to freak people out if there's no reason.

"Anytime we release something like that to the press, people then start to get the idea that things are like ‘oh my gosh!' you know? And you can ruin the business of restaurants by notifying every time you turn around when the situation is really not that dire," Vail said.

Dr. John Ward¹³ is Director of the Division of Viral Hepatitis for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He backs up Vail's assessment¹⁴.

"Eating food at a restaurant in Southeast Michigan is very, very low risk for hepatitis A," Ward said.

"Eating food at a restaurant in Southeast Michigan is very, very low risk for hepatitis A," Ward said.

Less than 5% of cases connected to the outbreak are food workers, according to Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services. MDHHS couldn't say how many people have contracted the virus from food handlers.

"While we are aware of events with food handlers and in healthcare settings that have resulted in secondary cases, we don't have the data broken down in the way that you've asked," MDHHS spokeswoman Angela Minicuci wrote in an emailed response.

Still, restaurant workers in Michigan, especially Southeast Michigan, are a priority for the limited supply of the hepatitis A vaccine simply because of the nature of their work. Poor hand washing and then handling food is an easy way for hepatitis A to get around.

That's why many local health departments are hosting vaccinations¹⁵ clinics targeting those who work in bars and restaurants, such as people like Brenda Alexander from Rochester, who showed up to a vaccination clinic in Pontiac last month.

"Our manager sent out an email to everybody that said there have been a lot of cases in Oakland County," Alexander said. "I do work with kids too so I figured better protect myself than get hep A."

Oakland County's health officer Leigh-Anne Stafford is thrilled to hear folks like Alexander are getting the message. She says there are a lot of misconceptions about hep A.

"Most people say ‘Oh I have a vaccine against that.' Or, ‘Oh that doesn't involve me,' because maybe, ‘Oh that's just somebody who does IV drug use," Stafford said.

"But we're seeing people that do not use IV drugs. They're not homeless," Stafford said.

37% of people involved in Michigan's outbreak say they do not use drugs and they are not homeless.

"If there's anything we can stress – get vaccinated. At least have a conversation with your physician to determine if you should be vaccinated or if you haven't been vaccinated," Stafford suggests.

The only reason health officials aren't telling everyone to get vaccinated is because there's a limited supply, according to the CDC. But every health officer and doctor I've talked to said they won't turn anyone away.

So at the vaccination clinic for food workers in Pontiac last month, it wasn't just waiters, bartenders and cooks getting the shot. There were firefighters and cops, a soup kitchen volunteer, even I got over my fear of needles and got in line.

Want to get vaccinated? Call your doctor or local health department:

The Detroit Health Department offers hepatitis A vaccines¹⁶ at both of its Immunization Clinics Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8am to 5pm and Wednesday 9am to 6pm. The clinics are located at:

The Samaritan Center (5555 Conner Street Detroit, MI 48213)

The Family Place (8726 Woodward Avenue Detroit, MI 48202)

Detroit is also launching a mobile vaccination clinic this month. Restaurants can call the Detroit Health Department at [phone] to arrange for vaccinations.

Wayne County Communicable Disease Unit [phone]

Macomb County Health Department [phone]

Oakland County Health Division [phone] or [email protected]

St. Clair County Health Department [phone]

Ingham County Immunization Clinic [phone]

Monroe County Health Department Hepatitis A Hotline for updates [phone]

Washtenaw County Health Department [phone]

Genesee County Health Department [phone]

Livingston County Health Department [phone]

1 bum   

n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨

参考例句：

• A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。
• The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

2 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

3 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

4 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

5 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

6 heyday   

n.全盛时期，青春期

参考例句：

• The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
• She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

11 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

14 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

15 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。