There has been a report of an outbreak of Shigella bacteria in six bay area counties, which includes Santa Clara, Merced, Santa Cruz, Alameda, San Mateo and Marin. The authority stated that there are 182 cases reported that is affected by the bacteria and apparently this number shows how fast the rate of the bacteria is spreading.
The Shigella bacteria are a fast spreading disease. It is capable of transmission through human handling of food and water or even a direct human interaction. This could make the method of transmission of the bacteria easier, hence faster infection. Even the littlest amount of Shigella bacteria is enough to cause symptoms and infection.
"Shigella is extremely contagious," Santa Clara County Public Health Department spokeswoman Allison Thrash said. "Careful, frequent hand-washing is extremely important in preventing the continued spread of the outbreak."
Most of the infected individuals reportedly ate at a Mexican restaurant in San Jose, where it is considered the source of the outbreak last Friday or Saturday night. The people became violently ill and experienced symptoms like fever and diarrhoea.
The Health Department is now considering subject "0" while others are still under the process of testing. It has been stated that the cook was considered as the carrier of the bacteria and the receiver of the secondary infection was the first human from the restaurant. The results of their tests are still under process and will be available for public viewing in the soonest possible time.
The reported restaurant remains closed until proper notice is given by the officials. The owner, on the other hand, faces three lawsuits at the moment. Lawsuits coming from dissatisfied customers such as Greg Meissner a student who happens to eat at the same restaurant. There are 38 reported cases in Almeda and 144 cases from Santa Clara County, where 72 of these cases were confirmed in a laboratory and the remaining cases were already diagnosed at Santa Clara.
