Merced County confirms cases linked to shigella outbreak

Five Merced County residents became ill with food poisoning after eating at a San Jose restaurant that has been linked to a shigella outbreak, health officials confirmed Monday.

As of Friday, a total of 182 cases in connection with the seafood restaurant Mariscos San Juan #3 had been reported by the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health. Officials on Monday said that 144 of the cases were among Santa Clara County residents.

The restaurant was closed on Oct. 18 for an investigation and will remain closed until further notice, health officials said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shigellosis, caused by the bacterial group shigella, is an infectious disease that usually results in diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps a day or two after exposure to the bacteria.

Shigellosis is spread by eating or drinking something that has come in contact with feces of a person infected with shigella. Health officials explained that food may become contaminated when prepared by an infected food handler, for example. Careful hand washing can help control the disease.

Kathleen Grassi, director of the Merced County Department of Public Health, said two of the five infected Merced County residents were hospitalized at Mercy Medical Center in Merced and another in a hospital in San Jose around Oct. 18. They were released last week.

“It is highly contagious,” Grassi said. “It’s passed very quickly and easily.”

Prior to the outbreak, no cases of shigellosis had been reported in Merced this year.

“We don’t get this kind of outbreak often,” Grassi said.

People who ate at Mariscos San Juan on Oct. 16 or 17 and felt ill after eating there are asked to seek medical attention and get tested.

This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Merced County confirms cases linked to shigella outbreak."