A Salmonella outbreak associated with two Burger King restaurants in Bemidji, Minnesota has sickened at least 27 people, according to news reports quoting the Minnesota Department of Health. Those cases have been confirmed in this Burger King Salmonella outbreak, and there are four more pending probable cases.
Both of the restaurants voluntarily closed on Thursday, November 30, 2017. Apparently most of the illnesses were identified in September, but two more people were diagnosed with Salmonella food poisoning this week.
Doug Schultz of the Minnesota Department of Health told the Bemidji Pioneer, “They may have been sick a couple of weeks or so before then. It takes a while before people get symptoms, and then they’re sick enough to go to the doctor, and then we identify.”
After the outbreak was identified in September, interventions were put into place. Both facilities were cleaned. And any employees who showed symptoms of illness were kept from work until they were well for 72 hours. But that did not stop the outbreak from continuing into October or November.
Public health officials think that the outbreak is linked to sick employees rather than a specific contaminated food or beverage. “We do clearly have evidence of food worker illness being part of the problem,” Schultz added.
Before the restaurants can open, next week at the earliest, each employee must test negative for Salmonella bacteria twice. And the restaurants must be re-cleaned before customers will be allowed in.
The symptoms of a Salmonella infection include abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, and a fever. Most people get sick 12 to 72 hours after exposure. And most people are sick for a week. Because most cases are not reported, there could be more people sick in this particular outbreak.
If you think you are part of the Burger King Salmonella outbreak in Bemidji, see your doctor. Even when you recover completely there are still risks for health problems in the future. Salmonella patients can develop reactive arthritis, high blood pressure, or irritable bowel syndrome after this infection.
The law firm of Pritzker Hageman helps people sickened after eating at a restaurant protect their legal rights, and get justice and compensation. Our lawyers represent patients and the families of children sickened with bacterial infections in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against restaurants, retailers, food producers, food processors, and others. Attorney Fred Pritzker and his team recently won $7.5 million for a young client whose kidneys failed because of hemolytic uremic syndrome after an E. coli infection. Class action lawsuits are usually not appropriate for outbreak cases because the patients are very unique.
