Entertainment> Celebrities

Beyonce not at risk for party illness

(AP)
2007-03-01 08:24

LOS ANGELES - Beyonce Knowles attended a Sports Illustrated party where guests may have been exposed to hepatitis A but she was not at risk of catching the illness because she didn't sample the food, her publicist said Wednesday.

Singer and actress Beyonce appears backstage during MTV's 'Total Request Live' show at the MTV Times Square Studios, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007 in New York.[AP]

"Thank goodness, neither one of us ate. According to the health department, she wasn't at risk," said publicist Alan Nierob.

The Feb. 14 bash in West Hollywood was to celebrate the magazine's latest swimsuit issue. Knowles, who was featured on the cover, and many other models in the magazine were there. The party was one of 13 catered events where people may have been exposed to hepatitis A by an infected cook working for Wolfgang Puck Catering, authorities said.

The cook has been placed on medical leave.

As many as 3,500 people may have been exposed to the contagious but rarely fatal illness between Feb. 3 and Feb. 20, but "if they didn't touch the food, they're not going to have a problem," Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of public health for Los Angeles County, said Wednesday.

Health officials and party organizers were working to notify everyone on the 13 party guest lists, Fielding said.

No illnesses had been reported by Wednesday afternoon.

"I think the risk is low for everybody" of contracting the illness, Fielding said.

However, it can take up to seven weeks for symptoms to show, he said.

There is a 14-day window during which immune globulin can be administered to prevent illness and that window was still open for many people, Fielding said.

Hepatitis A is a viral infection of the liver that can cause jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever. The virus most often is spread through fecal-oral contact, such as touching hand to mouth after using the bathroom or shaking the hands of infected people who did not wash properly.

It also can spread when an infected worker touches food, even cooked food, without taking proper precautions.

The county reported more than 400 cases of acute hepatitis A in each of the past two years.