XPost: rec.food.marketplace, alt.transgendered, alt.politics.democrats.d   
   XPost: alt.religion.scientology   
   From: tyler@facts.org   
      
   Santa Clara County health officials shut down a popular Mexican   
   seafood restaurant in downtown San Jose after more than 40   
   people came down with food poisoning symptoms linked to the   
   extremely infectious bacteria shigella, authorities said.   
      
   Mariscos San Juan restaurant at 205 N. Fourth St. was closed   
   Sunday morning and remained shuttered Tuesday after the outbreak   
   of the nasty bacteria that causes miserable bouts of fever and   
   diarrhea.   
      
   Of the more than 40 people who have shown symptoms of shigella,   
   15 tested positive for the bacteria as of Tuesday and many were   
   being treated at hospital intensive care units, said Allison   
   Thrash, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Public Health   
   Department.   
      
   Health officials were first alerted to the outbreak when five   
   ailing diners — who had all eaten at Mariscos — showed up at   
   South Bay hospitals over the weekend with fever and diarrhea.   
   Health officers are working to determine where the bacteria   
   originated in the restaurant.   
      
   “What we know is everyone who was ill has eaten at that   
   restaurant location,” said county Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody.   
   “The restaurant is closed until we can be assured that there is   
   no further risk to the public.”   
      
   Most of the ill patients had eaten at the restaurant on Friday   
   or Saturday, and many were admitted to hospitals. Some patients   
   toughed it out and did not seek medical attention, officials   
   said.   
      
   County health officials suspect there may be several more cases   
   and urge anyone who has recently eaten at Mariscos and is having   
   symptoms of shigella to notify the public health department or   
   to see a doctor.   
      
   Shigella is an infectious bacteria that causes watery or bloody   
   diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever and malaise. It is often spread   
   by eating food prepared by someone carrying the bacteria, or by   
   person-to-person contact.   
      
   The illness typically lasts about a week, though untreated   
   people may carry the bacteria for up to six weeks, health   
   officials said. Treatment with antibiotics can shorten the time   
   a person carries shigella.   
      
   The bacteria is the third most common cause of bacterial   
   gastroenteritis in the country behind salmonella and E. coli,   
   according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   
   Hundreds of thousands of cases are reported each year in the   
   United States, and though the symptoms can be severe, deaths   
   from the bacteria are rare.   
      
   People who think they may have been infected can contact the   
   Santa Clara County Public Health Department at (408) 885-4214.   
      
   http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Shigella-outbreak-shutters-   
   San-Jose-Mexican-6579145.php   
          
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)