Salmonella outbreak in Newton tied to one restaurant

THIS STORY RAN IN THE NEWTON KANSAN ON JUNE 26, 2008.

A Newton restaurant has been linked to 11 confirmed cases of salmonella, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment confirmed Thursday.

KDHE spokesman Joe Blubaugh said KDHE still is investigating the outbreak and, as of this morning, was not releasing the name of the restaurant.

“We haven’t determined the cause,” Blubaugh said. “We don’t know if it was a certain food or produce from an outside distributor or an employee who was sick.”

The confirmed cases were reported between June 2 and 10, he said.

Residents of three counties have reported illness linked to this strain, Blubaugh said. The names of the other two counties have not been released by KDHE.

The cases being investigated by KDHE were all of the same strain but were a different strain from the illness being linked nationwide to raw tomatoes.

Symptoms of salmonella can include abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever and vomiting.

Some people may get a slight case of the illness and may not need medical attention.

Others, especially infants, elderly and the immune compromised, might require hospitalization.

If anyone thinks they may have had a case of salmonella since June 3, they can contact their physician or the health department. Information on these cases will be added to the KDHE case study.

The health department has kits to test for the illness.

For more information, contact the health department at 283-1637