A food worker at an assisted living center reports that her spouse was diagnosed with Shigella infection yesterday. How should the manager handle this situation?

• A. Restrict to cleaning non-food-contact surfaces
• B. Allow her to continue with gloves
• C. Put on leave
• D. Require medical clearance

Answer: (A)

Managing exposure to contagious GI pathogens in a food setting means limiting risk while keeping operations safe. Shigella spreads easily through the fecal-oral route and can contaminate hands and surfaces that come into contact with food. If a food worker has a household member with Shigella, she may have been exposed, even if she isn’t showing symptoms yet. The safest approach is to reassign her to tasks that do not involve handling food or food-contact surfaces, such as cleaning non-food-contact areas, so she can contribute without risking contamination of residents or items that touch food.

Gloves alone aren’t a reliable safeguard; even with gloves, contamination can transfer during glove removal or through hand contact, and not all surfaces are protected from cross-contamination. Putting her on leave is unnecessary if she can perform a non-food-contact role, and requiring medical clearance isn’t indicated solely by a household exposure unless symptoms develop.