SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento County public health officials are investigating the case of a food handler in a Natomas-area Thai restaurant recently diagnosed with hepatitis A.

Authorities are centering their investigation on the Tuk-Tuk Restaurant located at 4700 Natomas Blvd. in Sacramento.

Those at highest risk for contracting the disease are close contacts of the patient, officials said. This includes family members and co-workers who may have shared eating utensils.

The risk of illness for patrons of the restaurant is small. Those who ate appetizers or salads, that have uncooked food in them, may have a higher risk than those who ate only cooked, hot food.

Those who are concerned, and had food at the restaurant on June 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27 or 29, should see their doctor within the next week for evaluation and consideration of preventive treatment. The last day of possible exposure was June 29.

Since post-exposure countermeasures must be given within two weeks of the last exposure, the latest date for effective treatment is July 13.

Hepatitis A is a viral disease that has an incubation of 15 to 50 days.

To prevent hepatitis A or decrease the severity of the disease, those who have been exposed are encouraged to receive gamma globulin within two weeks of the exposure. In addition, for those who are 1 to 40 years old, receiving the Hepatitis A vaccine within two weeks of exposure can be as effective as receiving gamma globulin. A second dose of the vaccine should be given six months after the first dose.

People who have already had hepatitis A and recovered, and those who have received the hepatitis A vaccine, are protected from getting this disease, even if they have been exposed.

For more information on hepatitis A or about this particular occurrence, call the Sacramento County Public Health Division at 916-875-5881.