More than a hundred food handlers in Ashburton have been vaccinated against hepatitis A, as the virus continues to spread through the township.
The Ashburton Licensing Trust has given out free jabs to 120 staff at 13 different bars, restaurants and cafes in the town to curb the outbreak.
Nineteen cases of hepatitis A have been confirmed in the past three months.
Trust spokesman Andrew Cleverly says they wanted to be the first ones to take up the suggestion from the Canterbury District Health Board, to prevent the virus spreading further.
"To stop the spread of the disease, also to protect our staff but also we wanted to make sure the community were confident that they could come to any one of our venues and be risk free."
