More than 340 people had been referred for hepatitis A vaccinations as of Monday after they recently visited a West Jordan 7-Eleven store where an infected employee handled food.

The Salt Lake County Health Department has issued an alert that as many as 2,000 customers of the convenience store at 2666 W. 7800 South could have been exposed if they used the restroom or consumed fountain drinks, fruit or prepared foods from the store’s hot case between Dec. 26 and Jan. 3.

Officials said customers should call a hotline, 385-468-INFO (4636) for vaccine options.

Nearly 500 people called on Monday alone, keeping nine employees busy fielding inquiries throughout the day, county health department spokesman Nicholas Rupp said. Calls continued Tuesday, though Rupp said call volume was lower.

Some 129 people had been vaccinated at Salt Lake County immunization clinics, Rupp said Tuesday, and officials hoped others referred would get vaccinated against the viral disease through their own pharmacy or medical provider.

The health department says the infected 7-Eleven worker’s case is linked to an ongoing outbreak in Utah that began in August among the state’s homeless population. The flare-up in the Beehive State is linked to a much larger outbreak in California; Michigan also has seen a surge of hepatitis A cases in recent months.

A Monday update from the Utah Department of Health said 133 people have been sickened by that outbreak so far — with close to 60 percent of those requiring hospitalization. Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, vomiting and jaundice, or yellowing of the skin.

The disease usually spreads when traces of infected feces reach the mouth through contaminated food, water or dirty hands.

Before the 7-Eleven employee exposure, state and county health officials said the outbreak had been largely confined to the homeless. They warned that a single exposure at a convenience store or restaurant could rapidly spread the disease to the state’s general population.

The homeless are especially vulnerable to the viral disease — which in rare cases can be deadly — because they often have underlying medical conditions that exacerbate symptoms.

Rupp said health officials believe the 7-Eleven employee had contact with the homeless population, acquired hepatitis A, and showed up sick to work — with a job that includes handling food — several days between Dec. 26 and Jan. 3.

On Jan. 3, the health department was notified the employee had been diagnosed with hepatitis A, Rupp said, and interviewed the store worker the next day. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven sanitized the store and threw away all its food stocks. The store has since reopened.

County health officials waited several days to alert the public, they said, because they did not have enough vaccinations on hand for as many as 2,000 people who may have been exposed.

In order for the vaccine to be effective, Rupp said, it needs to be administered within 14 days of exposure. That made Tuesday the last day to get the vaccine for those who may have been exposed Dec. 26, the first day the sickened 7-Eleven employee showed up at work.

The incubation period for hepatitis A is two to seven weeks, Rupp said, so officials likely won’t know for several days if anyone who visited the store has been sickened.

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