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.

According to the Sports Illustrated website, the party featured singer-actress Beyoncé along with other models appearing in the magazine, including Marisa Miller and Veronica Varekova.

 

Public health officials issued an alert urging precautions against acute hepatitis A for the more than 3,500 people — apparently including high-profile Sports Illustrated swimsuit models — who appeared at recent events featuring food prepared by Wolfgang Puck Catering, partly owned by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck.

Hollywood-based celebrity caterer Wolfgang Puck who is famous for his post-Oscar party dinners notified the agency that one of his prep cooks had been diagnosed with Hepatitis A.

Authorities said that guests of the catered events face little likelihood of contracting Hepatitis A which is characterized by inflammation of the liver and is the least serious of the viral forms of hepatitis. The disease is spread by close physical contact and through fecal contamination of food and drink, officials said.

The prep cook has not been involved with the Wolfgang Puck restaurant, cafe or prepared food divisions, and the alert does not apply to them.

Alert involved only 13 events — from Feb. 3 to Feb. 20 — that the infected prep cook worked on. Authorities are urging people who ate uncooked food at those events to receive shots of immune globulin, or IG, which can prevent the onset of the disease. For those who attended events more than 14 days ago officials are recommending that they visit their doctors if they show symptoms of hepatitis A. [TORONTO DAILY NEWS] 

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