Ashton's Hep A B-Day?

Thu., Feb. 21, 2008 4:42 PM PST by Natalie Finn

The celebs who gathered to celebrate Ashton Kutcher's 30th birthday may have ended up on the wrong type of A-list.

The New York City Department of Health later issued an alert stating that a case of hepatitis A was discovered at West Village hot spot Socialista, and everyone who was there on certain nights—including Feb. 7, the night of Kutcher's party—has been urged to get vaccinated as a precaution.

The agency informed Socialista's management that a bartender working Feb. 7, as well as Feb. 8 and 11, was infected with the disease, an inflammation of the liver most commonly spread through contact with (hopefully) minuscule traces of fecal matter. (Those "please wash hands" signs don't just make for fun bathroom reading.)

There was no immediate comment from reps for Kutcher or Demi Moore, who threw the bash for her hubby.

While hep A is highly manageable and the vaccine commercially known as Avaxim works to prevent infection in more than 95 percent of cases, it can wreak havoc on the immune system and result in a variety of uncomfortable symptoms, such as nausea, jaundice and fatigue.

Owners estimate that nearly 800 people got their drink-and-dance on at Socialista during the three nights the bartender in question worked there.

"Although no additional cases of illness have been identified, the New York City Department of Health is urging customers to get the vaccination as a precautionary measure," the restaurant said in a statement. "We are grateful for their efforts, and we will continue to support them in every way possible."

Judging from the list of boldfaced names on hand to party with Kutcher, docs on both coasts might want to stock up on their immunoglobulin.

In addition to Moore and Bruce Willis, Madonna, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, Liv Tyler, Molly Sims, Ali Larter, Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart, Lucy Liu, Lake Bell and Ivanka Trump all stopped by to bestow some birthday wishes.

Before the clubbing commenced, Moore hosted a dinner for her hubby at Gemma, which is located in the penthouse of the famed Bowery Hotel.

A similar scare occurred in February 2007 after the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health discovered that a prep cook who worked Sports Illustrated's annual Swimsuit Issue bash had hep A. Partygoers including last year's cover girl, Beyoncé, and models Bar Refaeli, Veronica Varekova, Yamila Diaz-Rahi, Ana Beatriz Barros and Marisa Miller were all encouraged to get vaccinated.

Beyoncé's rep later told E! News the Dreamgirls star didn't eat at the event, and therefore wasn't at risk of contracting the virus.