Hepatitis A case linked to Gainesville Tropical Smoothie Cafe

Health officials in Prince William County want to talk to anyone who purchased food or drink at Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Gainesville.

A male store employee in his early 20s this week was diagnosed with hepatitis A, a virus that attacks the liver and can be fatal in rare cases. Anyone who purchased anything at the restaurant between 28 and August 16 is see their doctor.

From the Prince William Health District:

Susceptible individuals who ate or drank anything from the Tropical Smoothie Café in Gainesville on August 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 or 18 may still benefit from vaccine or immune globulin to prevent hepatitis A if received within two weeks of the date of exposure. Susceptible individuals who ate or drank anything at the restaurant on those dates should contact their health care providers, or may contact the Prince William Health District information line at 703-792-6345. Vaccine is available at various urgent care clinics and pharmacies in the community and at the Prince William Health District.

The Tropical Smoothie store that employs the infected worker, at 8069 Stonewall Shops Square, remained open on Friday afternoon. The store employee notified the owners of the store Dennis and Nicole Drake on Wednesday that his was showing signs of an illness.

The owners said the employee was told to stay home.

A lab test revealed he had contracted Hepatitis A, which can be transmitted by fecal matter or orally, according to health officials. The employee regularly handed food, and has worked at the restaurant since June, said Drake.

Customers who may not be showing symptoms now could develop them later. Those infected with hepatitis A may show symptoms between 15 and 50 days after contracting the virus, according to health officials.

The Gainesville infection comes as Virginia Department of Health officials last week traced the cause of 28 other Hepatitis A infections at Tropical Smoothie Cafes across Virginia to strawberries imported from Egypt.

“I never order anything with strawberries in it,” said Tyler Long, of Bristow, who purchased two smoothies on Friday from Tropical Smoothie in Gainesville.

Long works at a neighboring barbecue restaurant and goes to Tropical Smoothie each time he works, about four to five times a week.

The Drakes, owners of the Gainesville Tropical Smoothie, attended a press conference on Friday at the Prince Willaim Health District Office in Manassas. The husband and wife owner team said their store regularly passes state health inspections, that the company uses a private firm to perform additional health inspections, and that proper food handling training is administered to all employees.

“We’ve been impacted by this… it hurts us,” said Dennis Drake. “And it hurts more so than the business aspect… this is our food, these are our employees, and we’re all members of this community.”

The Drakes employee 17 people at their Gainesville location. The couple said they were at their Gainesville store until 2 a.m. Friday performing a “deep clean” of the restaurant.