A 53-year-old hair salon employee and a 60-year-old part-time fitness instructor were diagnosed with Hepatitis A after they ate at a Hamilton restaurant where a food handler first contracted the virus, health officials said Friday.

JKR branch of the Hamilton Area YMCA
JKR branch of the Hamilton Area YMCA (Google Street View)
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The two women are recovering, according to Jeffrey Plunkett, Hamilton Township's health officer.

Officials say both people ate food from Rosa's Restaurant and Catering, where Hepatitis A was reported in November.

Plunkett said the 53-year-old woman works at The Hair Port Salon. The 60-year-old is fitness instructor at the Hamilton Area YMCA's JKR Branch and the New Jersey Athletic Club in Lawrenceville. She also works at the Mercer County Board of Social Services.

Plunkett said at a news conference that the salon had already been scheduled to be closed Friday but that it was being cleaned under monitoring by health inspectors. He said health officials have offered to inoculate staff members at the gym facilities where the 60-year-old works.

The 60-year-old woman experienced flu-like symptoms and went to her doctor on Dec. 19, Plunkett said, then returned to Dec. 22 and again a week later after her symptoms worsened. Health officials were informed that she'd tested positive for Hepatitis A on Thursday.

In a post on their Facebook page, the Hamilton Area YMCA says the "existing cleaning protocols" by the professional cleaners that maintain the facility "will effectively address this issue" of hepatitis. They do suggest that users "wipe down the equipment before and after using it," however. An Open House scheduled for Saturday is going on as scheduled.

The New Jersey Athletic Club said on their Facebook the instructor teaches on a "limited basis"at the facility and uses "hospital grade cleaning solutions to sanitize equipment and facility."

Both patients are recovering.

According to the Hamilton Township Division of Health, the early signs and symptoms of Hepatitis A appear 2-6 weeks after exposure and commonly include the following:

  •  Mild fever
  • Loss of appetite
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea/ “Clay-colored” stool\
  • Tiredness
  • Pain in the upper right side of the abdomen under the rib cage
  • Dark urine and jaundice (yellowing of the eyes or skin)

The disease varies in severity, with mild cases lasting two weeks or less and the more severe cases lasting 4-6 weeks or longer. However, even persons with mild symptoms can be highly infectious. Persons with symptoms suggestive of Hepatitis A should consult a physician even if symptoms are mild.

Additional information regarding Hepatitis A can be viewed at the CDC website.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report

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