Nearly 100 Sickened In Shigella Outbreak Linked To San Jose Mexican Restaurant, Lawsuits Filed
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- Two lawsuits were filed Wednesday against the owners of a San Jose Mexican restaurant where the food has made nearly 100 people ill and left 24 people with confirmed cases of Shigella, a contagious diarrhoeal disease.
There are 93 cases connected with Mariscos San Juan restaurant .3, located at 205 N. Fourth St., which has been closed since Sunday morning, county deputy health officer Dr. George Han said during a news briefing this morning.
Two separate lawsuits by Rains Lucia Stern, PC, in San Francisco and Marler Clark, a Seattle, Washington-based firm specializing in food-borne illness litigation, were filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court on behalf of Daniel Estrada and Gregory Meissner, two victims who caught Shigella after eating at the restaurant.
Both lawsuits alleging negligence were filed against the restaurant's owners, Sergio Becerra Cruz and Lourdes Garcia Becerra.
A dozen people who were sent to an intensive care unit have either been discharged or moved to other parts of the hospitals where they're being treated, Han said.
Laboratory tests have confirmed 24 of the cases are Shigella and the county is continuing to receive results to find out if others have the disease, Han said.
A majority of the cases involve people who ate at the restaurant on Friday or Saturday and required hospitalization, according to Han.
Meissner ate a ceviche tostada and the following morning he experienced symptoms including chills, diarrhea and dizziness, according to the suit.
Meissner was transported Saturday evening to O'Connor Hospital's Emergency Department in San Jose where he was treated and then discharged early the next day, the suit states.
Estrada ate at the restaurant on Saturday and two days later experienced "severe gastrointestinal symptoms," leading him to visit his doctor on Tuesday, according to the suit.
He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose where he was cared for under isolation and discharged that same day, the suit states.
Both men continue to suffer from the effects of the disease, according to the lawsuits.
The complaints allege the owners were negligent in making and selling the food and supervising their employees in preparing the products.
The suits seek an amount to be determined at a jury trial for damages including medical expenses, lost wages and emotional distress.
"I have no animus toward the restaurant owners or anybody I just really don't want me, myself or the other people that I know and in my neighborhood at risk," Meissner said.
County public health officials first learned about the illnesses on Saturday and are also receiving reports of secondary infections linked with the restaurant but Han did not have numbers on those cases.
Han stressed the importance of hand washing with soap and water to prevent the spread of Shigella.
Investigators are still looking into how the outbreak started. In the past Shigella has spread through an ill food handler who partially or didn't wash their hands after using the bathroom, Han said.
Santa Cruz County is also investigating five suspected cases of Shigella that were reported Monday, county health officer Dr. Lisa Fernandez said.
Symptoms of the disease include sudden onset of diarrhea that in some cases contain blood, abdominal pain, fever and vomiting, he said.
People can become infected with a small amount of Shigella bacteria, Han said.
The restaurant has two other locations on Willow Street near state Highway 87 and on Senter Road near Kelley Park that remain open.
Michael Balliet, director of the consumer protection division at the Department of Environmental Health, called on food facility managers to discuss proper hygiene with employees and to make sure any sick workers stay off the job.
Before the restaurant can reopen, the county has to complete its investigation into the outbreak and follow protocol including decontaminating the eatery and making sure all employees are symptom-free, Balliet said.
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