McDonald's Hepatitis Case Probed by Health Officials in Kentucky

(Bloomberg) -- A McDonald’s Corp. employee in Kentucky could have potentially spread hepatitis A to customers, according to local health officials, igniting a new health scare for the fast-food giant.

Officials at the Madison County health department are warning people that they may have been infected by the food handler, who was working at a restaurant in the town of Berea, south of Lexington, on March 23. McDonald’s is fully cooperating with local and state agencies on the investigation, the health department said on its website.

“Hepatitis A is caused by a virus that is passed person to person through fecal-oral contact,” the agency said. “The risk to patrons who ate at McDonald’s is very low. However, individuals who ate there on March 23rd should watch for signs and symptoms of hepatitis A from April 7th to May 12th.”

The news, which was reported earlier by local CBS affiliate WYMT, sent McDonald’s shares to session lows on Thursday. After being up as much as 1.3 percent earlier in the day, the stock dipped into negative territory.

--With assistance from Joshua Fineman

To contact the reporter on this story: Leslie Patton in Chicago at lpatton5@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Roeder

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