Featured Outbreak
Subway Restaurant Shigella Outbreak, Lombard, IL 2010
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.