12 In Intensive Care With Shigella Outbreak For Eating At San Jose Seafood Restaurant

A dozen people hospitalized with shigella bacterial disease are in intensive cave, after dining at a seafood restaurant in San Jose, Calif.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the number of patients who reported symptoms associated with the shigella bacterial infection now exceeds 100, county public health officials said.

Twenty-four of those cases were confirmed to be shigellosis, an infectious diarrheal disease caused by a group of bacteria called shigella.

The outbreak began over the weekend when customers reported feeling severely ill after eating at Mariscos San Juan Restaurant No. 3 in the 200 block of North 4th Street.

Many patients who ate at the restaurant Friday or Saturday required hospitalization, and 12 needed intensive-care treatment.

According to the report, the disease spreads when food or water has been handled by contaminated hands or an infected person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also say produce contaminated by human sewage or by contaminated flies landing on food can also make people sick.

Patients infected with shigella usually start to feel sick one to two days after they have been exposed. Symptoms of shigella include diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain.

The sickness usually lasts between five and seven days, but shigella can be fatal in patients with severe symptoms.

The restaurant has remained closed as health officials investigate the outbreak. Health department officials advise anyone who has eaten at the restaurant and suffering from symptoms should see a doctor immediately.

Every year, 500,000 Americans are sickened with shigella, according to the CDC. 

Tags
shigella
San Jose
Join the Discussion

Latest Photo Gallery

Real Time Analytics