A lawsuit has been filed against Pappas Restaurants Inc., owners of Pappadeaux’s Seafood Kitchen in Phoenix, Arizona, on behalf of a client who ate there in August 2016. The suit was filed in the United States District Court of Arizona (Case 2:16-cv-03253-GMS).
The lawsuit alleges that their client ate tilapia, shrimp, and crab cakes at that restaurant on or about August 14, 2016, and became violently ill two days later. She was admitted to Abrazo Scottsdale Campus hospital on August 20, 2016. While there, she was tested for Salmonella and a stool test came back positive for Salmonella Javiana, according to the complaint. The client spent five days in the hospital.
Some of those infected with this type of food poisoning, such as this client, must be hospitalized because their illness is so severe. Dehydration and sepsis can occur if the bacteria get into the bloodstream. Long term complications of a Salmonella infection include Reiter’s Syndrome, which can lead to reactive arthritis, immune issues, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Robert Lane of the Phoenix Department of Health confirmed in a phone message that there is an investigation into a food poisoning outbreak centered on a seafood-style restaurant in Maricopa county, Arizona, where Phoenix is located. Maricopa county officials told Food Poisoning Bulletin that they can’t give details on the investigation while it is ongoing.
The symptoms of a Salmonella infection include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, chills, headache, muscle pains, and blood in the stool. These symptoms typically appear within six to seventy-two hours after exposure to the pathogenic bacteria.
If you ate at a seafood restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona and suffered these symptoms in August or September 2016, contact your doctor. If you do have a Salmonella infection, public health officials will be contacted since this is a reportable disease.
UPDATE: Maricopa County has released a report about a Salmonella Javiana outbreak at “Restaurant A” and states that 40 confirmed and 10 probable cases have been identified. That report states that shrimp imported by Censea, which were recalled for possible Salmonella contamination, might have been the vehicle of contamination. The outbreak strain of Salmonella Javiana was found in five of the prepped/re-packaged shrimp at the restaurant.
