Public health officials in Illinois and Kentucky are investigating separate outbreaks of Salmonella associated with independent Mexican restaurants. Combined, the Hacienda Don Villo outbreak in Channahon, Illinois, and the Casa Mexicana outbreak in Madisonville, Kentucky, have sickened about 50 people. In Kentucky, one of the outbreak patients has died. “Every outbreak of Salmonella carries the prospect of life-long illness for unsuspecting families,’’ said Fred Pritzker, founder of national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys. Pritzker said too many people downplay the burdens of Salmonella infection, which can trigger an assortment of long-term illness in some patients. In others, Salmonellosis resolves itself with no medical attention and the illness is over. Studies … [Read more...]
Casa Mexicana Salmonella Outbreak, 15 Sick, 1 Dead in KY
A Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 15 people and killed one person in Hopkins County, KY has been linked to Casa Mexicana, a Mexican restaurant in Madisonville, Public Health Director Denise Beach told Food Poisoning Bulletin today. Salmonella found in food from the restaurant was a genetic match to the strain found in cultures from patients. Of the 15 residents of Hopkins County with culture confirmed cases of Salmonella infection, five have been hospitalized, Beach said. There hasn't been a new report of onset of illness in 10 days, she said. Salmonella is a bacteria commonly found in the intestines of humans and animals. It is shed in feces and causes and infection, called salmonellosis, when someone eats food that is contaminated with microscopic amounts of fecal matter. … [Read more...]
