The Mariscos San Juan Shigella outbreak continues to grow – there have now been at least 118 victims identified in Santa Clara County by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department (SCCPHD) and 23 victims identified by other county health agencies, including, but not limited to, victims in San Mateo County, Alameda County and Santa Cruz County. This brings the current total to 141 victims, with over a third having been laboratory confirmed as of Friday, October 23rd. According to SCCPHD officials, most of the victims recalled eating at the Mariscos San Juan located at 205 N. Fourth St. in San Juan, Santa Clara County. The victims all seem to have eaten on either Friday the 16th of October or Saturday the 17th of October.
The ongoing investigation has included interviews with victims on their recent eating habits, as well as an inspection of the restaurant, with Santa Clara County public health officials conducting an on-site review of safety standards and compliance, as well as sampling of food items that were then sent for laboratory analysis. One major safety violation included a failure to properly cool cooked food to 41 degrees prior to refrigeration, a practice that can allow bacteria to grow rapidly. Fecal samples were also taken from the employees and sent for analysis.
According to Shigella lawyer Ron Simon, who has represented thousands of food poisoning victims, including victims of E. coli, Shigella, Salmonella and most other common food borne pathogens, “in most outbreaks linked to a specific restaurant, there have been significant deviations from safe food production policies and procedures, which include policies preventing ill workers from coming to work, preventing cross contamination, enforcing good personal hygiene, or failures to follow well-established safe food handling and preparation guidelines.” For more information about this outbreak, or to contact the Mariscos San Juan Claim Center and file a Shigella claim or Shigella lawsuit, call 1-888-335-4901.
