A female food worker at Quizno's Sub at 74 Summer St. in downtown Boston was diagnosed with hepatitis A last week and may have exposed hundreds to the disease during the two days she worked there.
Hepatitis A is transmitted through fecal contamination and causes swelling of the liver. While it is rarely fatal, its symptoms include fever, fatigue, nausea, and jaundice. Public health officials advised anyone who ate at Quizno's Sub on June 17-19 to attend the free clinic today from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at St. Anthony Shrine on 100 Arch St. Immune globulin can prevent illness or reduce the severity of symptoms if administered within two weeks of exposure.
Quizno's Sub was given a "pretty clean bill of health" during inspection last Friday following disclosure of the infected worker, O'Connor said.
Although public health officials determined that Quizno's Sub could remain open, the corporation closed the restaurant as a precaution. The company inoculated all its workers, threw out its food, and sanitized the restaurant, according to spokeswoman Stacie Lange.