10cbc8a4a82fdd71f5394bd054b70267According to a Public Health Warning, on Saturday afternoon, October 17, 2015, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department was notified by a local hospital of 5 patients with fever and diarrhea who had all eaten at the same restaurant. Subsequent case finding has revealed a total of over two dozen individuals with fever and diarrhea who ate at Mariscos San Juan restaurant (205 N. 4 Street) in downtown San Jose on Friday October 16 or Saturday October 17. The restaurant was closed on Sunday morning and remains closed.

Of the ill persons, over a dozen have tested positive for Shigella by PCR, and one has a blood culture growing Shigella sonnei; almost all of the reported cases have required hospital admission, and 11 are in intensive care. There are other individuals who were seen and not admitted or who were ill but did not seek medical attention.

As reported by NBC South Bay:

“My fever was at 104 — that’s when vomitting started,” said Andres Guera, who was still recovering late Monday after spending the weekend in the intensive care unit at Kaiser Permanente hospital in Santa Clara. Guera said the pain started Friday after having lunch at Mariscos.

“The first thing they did was put seven liters of fluid in me,” Guera said. Guera soon found out he was not the only one sickened after an emergency room nurse told him “it was like a Hollywood movie down there with all the patients coming in.”

ABC 7 reports:

Anna Aguilar and her mother-in-law, Josefina Alfonso, both got sick. They told us by phone management denied they had anything to do with it.

“My husband contacted the owner yesterday and the owner was very rude. He told my husband no, that we must have ate something the night before or during that week,” Aguilar said.

Shigella infection can be subclinical, but typically causes watery or bloody diarrhea with abdominal pain, fever, tenesmus, and malaise. Shigella is very infectious with just 10 -100 organisms are sufficient to cause disease. Transmission occurs via the fecal – oral route and can be spread by eating food prepared by an infected food handler or by direct person – to – person contact. Sexual transmission may also occur. Young children, the elderly, and HIV – infected individuals with CD4 count < 200 are more likely to have severe symptoms including dehydration, bacteremia, and seizures.

Shigella: Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of Shigella outbreaks. The Shigella lawyers of Marler Clark have represented thousands of victims of Shigella and other foodborne illness outbreaks and have recovered over $600 million for clients. Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation. Our Shigella lawyers have litigated Shigella cases stemming from outbreaks traced to a variety of sources, such as tomatoes, airplane and restaurant food.

If you or a family member became ill with a Shigella infection after consuming food and you’re interested in pursuing a legal claim, contact the Marler Clark Shigella attorneys for a free case evaluation.