An employee working for a Red Robin restaurant in Springfield, Missouri has contracted hepatitis A and may have exposed as many as 5,000 people who ate at the restaurant.

Hepatitis A, an infectious disease that affects the liver, is commonly spread by ingesting food and drinking water that have been contaminated with the feces of an infected person and can be transmitted through direct contact with an infected person.

Although most of those who contracted the disease recover without permanent damage to the liver, severe cases of hepatitis A can cause liver failure and even death. Although the illness does not often exhibit symptoms, infected individuals may experience loss of appetite, jaundice or the yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes, nausea, having dark urine and clay-colored bowel and diarrhea. The duration of the illness also varies, it may last in under two months or up to six months.

In a news conference Wednesday, officials of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department said that those who dined at the Red Robin restaurant on South Glenstone Avenue between May 8 and May 16 are at risk of contracting hepatitis A and needs to be vaccinated. The Health Department also advised those who were possibly exposed to hepatitis A to see their healthcare provider particularly pregnant women and those with a compromised immune system.

Health Department director Kevin Gipson said that all employees of Red Robin have already been vaccinated and that the restaurant does not have health code violations associated with their sick employee. Red Robin, on the other hand, said that their employee who was infected with hepatitis A has not been in the restaurant starting May 16 and will only return to work once given a medical clearance.

The Health Department has also ordered 4,000 doses of vaccines and will set up an immunization clinic at Remington's at 1655 W. Republic Road for those who have not yet been vaccinated against the disease. Vaccinations will begin on Thursday until Friday. Those who have questions about the vaccination process were advised to contact the number 417.829.6200.

"Individuals who were exposed to the Hepatitis A virus should get the vaccine within 2 weeks of exposure," the Springfield-Greene County Health Department said in a statement. "Anyone who ate at the Red Robin restaurant between May 4 to May 8 should report to their doctor if they develop severe symptoms of jaundice or dehydration."