Many enjoy the dining out experience: the ambiance, the delicacies served, and just the entire event. Therefore, for restaurant lovers who dined at the popular Alta restaurant at West Village in New York it came as a disheartening shock when they got news that they should visit the hospital for a Hepatitis A shot if they dined there within the 23^rd of March and the 2^nd of April. According to the manager of the restaurant, their pastry chef had contracted the Hepatitis A virus when she went for a trip in Mexico.

After their wedding, a couple had gone to the restaurant for sundaes and were shocked when they received a message sent by the city health department cautioning them that they should both get preventative shots for hepatitis A. Unnerving news, considering that this was supposed to be their wedding. They said that thought they found the food to be very appetizing and delicious they did not wish to go back there any time soon. Another patron of the restaurant said that if he had had the previous knowledge that the desserts, though delicious, had been “garnished” with the virus he would never had looks at the dessert menu.

Hepatitis A is a highly contagious illness that affects the liver. The stages of the disease vary, with the severe stage likely to last for a couple of months. It is usually spread through contact with contaminated fecal matter through foods and drinks. Though the disease is not as chronic as either Hepatitis B or C, there are some very special cases where it could require a transplant procedure to be carried out. It is important to always thoroughly wash our hands before we consume any food or drink to avoid contamination by the virus.