XPost: rec.food.marketplace, alt.transgendered, alt.politics.democrats.d   
   XPost: alt.religion.scientology   
   From: tyler@facts.org   
      
   Two lawsuits were filed today 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.   
      
   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 be come 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.   
      
   --Bay City News   
      
   http://patch.com/california/santacruz/first-lawsuits-filed-over-   
   shigella-outbreak   
          
      
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