Information about the multistate Jimmy John’s sprouts E. coli O103 outbreak has been released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This is a different outbreak from the E. coli O103 outbreak at Jimmy John’s restaurants in Iowa that sickened 22 people in late 2019.
Ill people reported eating clover sprouts that were served at Jimmy John’s restaurants in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Texas, and Utah. The government is investigating to see if contaminated sprouts were served at other restaurants or sold in grocery stores.
The case count by state is: Illinois (6), Iowa (3), Missouri (1), Texas (1), and Utah (3). Illness onset dates range from January 6, 2020 to February 11, 2020. The patient case count is from 1 year to 79 years. No hospitalizations or deaths have been reported to date.
Epidemiologic evidence indicates that sprouts from Jimmy John’s restaurants are a likely source of this outbreak. This isn’t the first time sprouts from that restaurant have caused outbreaks: It’s the sixth time since 2012.
Officials have been interviewing patients to find out what they ate the week before they got sick. Five of six people, or 83%, said they ate at a Jimmy John’s restaurant. Of those six people, four, or 67%, remember that they ate sprouts on a sandwich from Jimmy John’s. This is significantly higher than results from a survey of healthy people; only 8% of that group ate sprouts the week before they were interviewed.
Patient isolates were tested using whole genome sequencing (WGS), which maps a bacteria’s DNA. WGS showed that bacteria from the patients sickened in this outbreak are closely related genetically. The means that people in this outbreak are more likely to share a common source of infection. And WGS showed that this strain of E. coli O103 is closely related to the strain identified in that late 2019 outbreak of E. coli O103 infections linked to clover sprouts served at Jimmy John’s restaurants in Iowa.
Food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker has filed lawsuits against Jimmy John’s restaurants on behalf of ill clients. You can contact Fred for help by calling 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
The government is concerned about other customers who ate clover sprouts at any Jimmy John’s restaurants around the country. If you did, and you are experiencing the symptoms of an E. coli infection, see your doctor because you may be part of this Jimmy John’s sprouts E. coli O103 outbreak.. Those symptoms include a fever, nausea, vomiting, serious stomach and abdominal cramps, and bloody or watery diarrhea.
If you have a leftover sandwich with clover sprouts from Jimmy John’s restaurants, don’t eat it. Throw it away and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water
This outbreak may grow, since it can take up to three weeks between the time a person gets sick, sees their doctor, is diagnosed, and the illness reported to the government. This investigation is ongoing.
