http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/ en msiceloff@marlerclark.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-10T00:15:44+00:00 http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/subway-restaurant-shigella-outbreak-lombard-il-2010/ http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/subway-restaurant-shigella-outbreak-lombard-il-2010/#When:00:15:44Z At least 116 people have been culture-confirmed with Shigella infections following an outbreak traced to a Subway restaurant in Lombard, IL, near Chicago.  Seven of those were hospitalized with severe shigellosis symptoms, including fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps.  The restaurant at 1009 E. Roosevelt Road has been closed while DuPage county health officials work to contain the outbreak.  The number of confirmed ill may rise as patrons of the restaurant who have become sick realize that their illness may be more than a “stomach flu” and get tested.  The health department recommends that anyone who ate at the Lombard Subway restaurant between February 24 and March 5 and experiencing any gastro-intestinal illness get tested. Shigella can produce a severe diarrheal illness, also known as bacillary dysentery. It can occur after ingestion of fewer than 100 bacteria, making Shigella one of the most communicable forms of the bacterial-induced diarrheas. Shigella thrives in the human intestine and is commonly spread both through food and by person-to-person contact. Marler Clark currently represents 80 Chicago-area residents who have become ill after eating at the Lombard Subway.  On March 9, Marler Clark filed suit on behalf of a Wheaton family whose 12-year-old son became violently ill with a Shigella infection after eating at the Subway. Marler Clark has since filed two additional suits against the Lombard Subway on behalf of customers who became infected with Shigella. 2010-03-10T00:15:44+00:00 http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/multiple-restaurant-shigella-outbreak-traced-to-tomatoes-2001/ http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/multiple-restaurant-shigella-outbreak-traced-to-tomatoes-2001/#When:20:36:27Z In May of 2001, a large outbreak of gastrointestinal illness involving five local restaurants under the same ownership occurred in Nassau County in New York state. Four culture-confirmed S. flexneri cases were reported by the county health department, all of whom had eaten at restaurant A before the onset of illness. Subsequently, a nurse reported diarrhea in 19 of 70 persons who ate a hospital lunch catered by restaurant A. Reports of illness in persons who had eaten at the four other restaurants followed. In all, 118 isolates of S. flexneri were recovered from 886 patrons and 16 isolates recovered from 150 restaurant employees. An epidemiologic investigation identified raw tomatoes as the source of the outbreak. During the week before the outbreak, all five restaurants received tomatoes from a single new distributor. The distributor bought them in Queens from a wholesale marketer who had received tomatoes from Florida during May 2001. Days before the outbreak, the distributor sold overripe and bruised tomatoes at a discount to the five restaurants. The rate of illness peaked at each restaurant within 24 hours of the arrival of the tomatoes. No other restaurants supplied by this distributor received “special grade” tomatoes during the outbreak (and no other outbreaks were reported). After being sliced at the restaurant, the tomatoes were kept in a salad bar refrigerated from the bottom, but located next to a hot grill; the tomatoes were kept in the bin closest to the grill. Interviews with sorters and packers at the distributor and employees at the restaurant revealed that the tomatoes were not washed at either site. Employees of the distributor were reportedly not ill, although two employees who were recent Caribbean immigrants were not available for interview. Interviews with restaurant employees, all of whom had eaten many items served at the restaurant, revealed that no one was ill before or at the start of the outbreak except one worker, a salad server, who reported being ill on May 25. Ready-to-eat foods were handled without gloves at the restaurants, and handwashing stations had neither soap nor towels. No employee worked at more than one restaurant. The food samples that were collected as part of the investigation tested negative but the implicated tomatoes were not available for testing. (Reller et al., 2006) 2010-01-06T20:36:27+00:00 http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/viva-mexico-shigella-outbreak/ http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/viva-mexico-shigella-outbreak/#When:00:39:00Z In October of 2000, the California Department of Health Services identified Viva Mexico, a Redwood City, California restaurant, as the source of a large Shigella outbreak.  According to the Division of Communicable Disease Control Branch final report on the outbreak:  Between October 19 and 24, approximately 221 individiuals became ill after eating at the Viva Mexico restaurant in Redwood City, CA.  One death occurred in a female who ate at Viva Mexico on October 19.  Symptoms included fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea (sometimes bloody) and dehydration.  Seventy persons were culture-confirmed with Shigella Sonnei.  Of 70 culture-confirmed individuals, 19 ate at Viva Mexico on October 19, 45 on October 20, 6 on October 21, and 1 on October 22.  Analysis of data from a case-control study completed by San Mateo County Communicable Disease Control staff of all patients, completed by San Mateo County Communicable Disease Control staff of all patients, revealed a statistically significant association with salsa served at the table Viva Mexico Mexican restaurant paid $55,000 in fines and agreed to make sure that employees washed their hands as part of an agreement struck with the San Mateo County district attorney after the outbreak. 2008-01-03T00:39:00+00:00 http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/senor-felix-shigella-outbreak/ http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/senor-felix-shigella-outbreak/#When:04:00:01Z An outbreak of shigellosis in Washington and six other Western states stemming from a contaminated Mexican-style dip developed into a major epidemic of food-borne illness in 2000. More than 335 people in Washington, California, Oregon, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona and Alaska had confirmed or suspected cases of the bacterial illness, characterized by severe diarrhea, nausea, fever and stomach cramps. At least 122 laboratory-confirmed cases were reported in Washington, including 76 in King County. As many as 32 other cases statewide were suspected. 2007-11-29T04:00:01+00:00 http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/royal-fork-shigella-outbreak/ http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/royal-fork-shigella-outbreak/#When:04:00:00Z A Shigella outbreak was traced to the Royal Fork restaurant in Mount Vernon, Washington, in January of 2001. Nine cases were confirmed and two people displayed the symptoms, but did not go to the doctor for a checkup to confirm their cases. The outbreak was traced back to a female food service worker at the restaurant, who failed to properly wash her hands after using the bathroom. 2007-11-29T04:00:00+00:00 http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/gate-gourmet-shigella-outbreak/ http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/gate-gourmet-shigella-outbreak/#When:03:59:01Z The Hawaii Department of Health investigated a Shigella outbreak that effected as many as several hundred passengers on twelve flights that departed from Honolulu airport August 22 through August 24, 2004. Passengers traveling to Australia, Japan, and American Samoa as well as 22 US states were confirmed by laboratory testing as having a genetically identical strain of Shigella. All passengers had traveled on flights with meals catered by Gate Gourmet’s Honolulu location. 2007-11-29T03:59:01+00:00 http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/filibertos-shigella-outbreak/ http://www.about-shigella.com/shigella_outbreaks/view/filibertos-shigella-outbreak/#When:03:58:01Z In late August of 2006, the San Diego County Health Department (SDCHD) and the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) began investigating a cluster of reported Shigella illnesses. The health departments launched epidemiological and environmental investigations and determined that the cluster of Shigella illnesses had originated at Filiberto’s Restaurant on University Avenue in San Diego, California; and serious food-handling and sanitation errors contributed to the outbreak of illness amongst restaurant patrons. The CDHS report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the outbreak indicated 32 confirmed and 41 probable Shigella illnesses for a total of 73 ill restaurant patrons. The exposure period was reported as August 23 through August 31, 2006. As a result of the outbreak, SDCHD conducted an inspection of the restaurant on August 31, 2006. The inspection revealed a host of food code violations, including improper cold holding temperatures for raw meat deliveries and the lack of a washing step for avocados in the guacamole preparation process. In addition, inspectors noted: Open windows with damaged screens. Employee failure to wash hands after restroom use. Failure to follow prescribed sanitation procedures. Lack of a dedicated handwashing sink. Flies in the kitchen and preparation room. All refrigerators in both facilities failing to keep potentially hazardous foods below 41°F. Food preparation equipment such as the grater and slicer were not being washed or sanitized properly. Foodhandlers failing to use gloves or other implements on ready to eat foods. No current proof of foodhandlers training. Dumpster “fly infested and not kept covered.” Damaged screen doors. As a result of these findings, the restaurant was closed until the deficiencies were corrected. The inspectors noted that many of the deficiencies could have been the cause of the Shigella outbreak. 2007-11-29T03:58:01+00:00