Hi ZHH community! Are you planning on attending the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago next week? We’d love to grab a coffee or a drink and catch up while you’re there!
Email lsweeney@zerohourhealth.com (or just reply to this email!) if you’re attending and have time to say hello!
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or need help, call 988 or message the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
Mpox transmission is down and the global WHO emergency has been declared over, but there’s still community transmission in the US, including a recent cluster of 13 cases in Chicago. All of those cases have been in men, and most were vaccinated. The vaccine doesn’t totally protect against mpox, but it does reduce the severity of symptoms and offers some level of protection against transmission for some period of time, though exactly how much is still being studied. In the US, mpox has been disproportionately affecting gay and bisexual men and trans people. Spring and summer could lead to a resurgence of mpox as people gather for festivals and other events, including pride celebrations. It’s important to note that mpox is still rare, and only spread through very close physical and intimate contact, so it’s not a reason to avoid pride parades! To make sure that everyone can enjoy a healthy and happy Pride, it’s important to make sure that those at high risk for mpox get their second dose of the vaccine - even if it’s been a while since the first.
No, norovirus symptoms begin 12-48 hours after ingesting the virus and tend to take at least 24 hours for most people. We regularly hear of guest complaints within an hour or two of eating at a restaurant, because people assume that the most recent meal is what caused their illness. Instead, it’s often what they ate the day or even two days before. If symptoms begin in less than 12 hours, either it’s not noro, or it’s not related to the most recent meal.
We’ve had a few Hep A cases lately, so it’s a good time to review what to do if a manager notices something odd. Hep A symptoms that managers might be able to physically see include yellow skin or eyes. Other common symptoms that are less visible include diarrhea, dark cola-colored urine or light-colored diarrhea or poop, vomiting, fever, fatigue, and loss of appetite. If a manager sees an employee come in with yellow skin or eyes, they should immediately ask about other symptoms of Hep A, and send the employee home until they receive a doctor’s note clearing them to work. The only exception is when the employee has a known medical condition that causes jaundice, like some cancer treatments, for example, and their symptoms are not new or changed.