People all over the Bay Area are becoming ill after an outbreak of the infectious intestinal disease Shigella.
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The most recent outbreak in California counties has, thus, been linked to the Mexican seafood restaurant. As per public health officials, the cases have now reached at 141. There are 14 confirmed cases from other counties, including San Mateo, Alameda and Santa Cruz. Mariscos San Juan #3, a popular restaurant in San Jose, was closed down over the weekend following dozens of people’s reporting diarrhea and fever after eating there.
Santa Clara County health officials said of the 141 cases, 118 were Santa Clara County residents and the remaining 23 patients live in nearby counties.
In nearly all of the cases, the patients ate at Mariscos San Juan Restaurant No. 3 on October 16 and 17.
Shigellosis is a bacterial infection caused by the Shigella group of bacteria. According to the Los Angeles Times, several people who dined at the restaurant on Friday or Saturday last week had to be sent to the hospital, with 12 of them given intensive treatment.
Taken together, the Yelp reviews that indicated the presence of food-poisoning cases coincided with data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flies can breed in the contaminated feces and carry the shigella bacteria.
Gregory Meissner is one of two seafood restaurant customers who filed a lawsuit against the eatery after being stricken with shigella. Anyone who thinks they may be sick with shigella should not go to work, officials said, and people who work with food or around children should be especially cautious. The sickness usually lasts between five and seven days, but shigella can be fatal in patients with severe symptoms.
Two other Mariscos restaurants on Willow Street and Senter Road have clean bills of health and remain open.
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County health experts say thorough and frequent hand washing is extremely important in preventing the continued spread of the outbreak.
