A POPULAR restaurant chain has been forced to close its doors at a beloved location after dozens of customers were left with fevers and severe stomach pain due to a horrific outbreak.
LongHorn Steakhouse is under fire due to multiple people suffering food poisoning after eating at the restaurant’s location in Fairview Heights, Illinois, which is about 15 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri.
Signs on the LongHorn Steakhouse doors tell customers the restaurant is closed[/caption]
Sylvia Ledbetter, who suffered weeks of pain due to Shigellosis[/caption]
At least eight LongHorn customers were hospitalized due to Shigellosis, which is an infectious disease caused by a bacteria called Shigella.
The steakhouse remains closed as the St. Clair County Health Department and the Illinois Department of Public Health are working to investigate what caused the outbreak at the restaurant.
Over 100 customers have hired attorney Jory Lange, who specializes in food poisoning cases, after eating at the steakhouse – and he’s already filed three lawsuits in the county.
“The Longhorn Steakhouse Shigella outbreak is likely to continue to grow,” Lange said in a press release.
“Symptoms usually began 8 to 50 hours after eating Shigella-contaminated food.
“Once people get sick and go to the hospital, it takes time for stool tests to come back positive for Shigella and for those test results to be reported to hospitals.
“That’s why the outbreak numbers will likely continue to rise.”
Sylvia Ledbetter, one of the customers who hired Lange, told St. Louis’ CBS affiliate KMOV that the steakhouse was her favorite restaurant that she visited multiple times a month – but now she doesn’t think she’ll ever go back.
“I can’t go back, and I loved the place, but I just can’t go back,” Ledbetter told the outlet.
“I can’t chance it. Matter of fact, I’m fearful.”
At the end of September, she ordered her usual order of chicken strawberry salad, potato soup, and a strawberry lemonade. She started to feel sick the next day.
“My stomach pain was on a scale of maybe 9, 9.5,” Ledbetter said.
“Could’ve been 10 on some days.”
Shigella infection causes fevers and diarrhea. Ledbetter said her symptoms lasted for weeks.
What is Shigellosis?
A bacteria called Shigella causes an infection called Shigellosis that infects the intestine.
Shigella is often spread in restaurants and day care facilities.
Symptoms usually start one to two days after exposure and can last for seven days.
Shigellosis symptoms typically include:
- Diarrhea that can be bloody
- Fever
- Abdominal pain and cramping
Shigella germs are in poop and they can spread from person to person through contaminated food, water, surfaces, or objects.
To avoid being infected, be sure to wash your hands and be extra careful when changing diapers.
About 450,000 people are infected with Shigellosis in the US each year, according to the CDC.
After two weeks of pain, Ledbetter went to the emergency room.
“I found myself not going to some of my daily routine activities like aqua classes in the pool or tai chi,” Ledbetter said.
“I didn’t want to do anything. I was tired and in pain.”
ON THE MENU
Lange said among his clients, there hasn’t been a common factor in any of the food items that might’ve contained the bacteria.
“Basically everything on the menu we have talked to multiple people who have ate there,” Lange told KMOV.
“We are not seeing one specific food product. We’re seeing the whole menu.”
Signs on the steakhouse’s doors tell customers that the restaurant is “closed voluntarily” as the investigation continues. It’s unclear when the spot will reopen.
WARNING TO RESTAURANT
Shigella bacteria could come from someone who works at the restaurant not properly washing their hands and spreading germs from fecal matter.
With this many people getting sick, there’s probably Shigella everywhere in that restaurant.”
Attorney Jory Lange
There have been 22 probable cases in the outbreak so far, according to the St. Clair County Health Department.
“The scary thing about this outbreak is, as a consumer, there’s nothing you can do to tell whether the food that you are buying is safe,” Lange said.
“You can’t taste, smell, or see Shigella. Food that is contaminated with Shigella may look, smell, and taste just like any other food.
“This is why it’s critical that restaurants who make and sell our food ensure the food is safe before they sell it.”
Lange said that the steakhouse could reopen safely if they test their employees for the infection and sanitize their restaurant.
“Test the employees,” Lange told KMOV.
“Require them to have two negative tests before they return but they need to scrub and sanitize and really carefully sanitize their facility because with this many people getting sick, there’s probably Shigella everywhere in that restaurant.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to LongHorn Steakhouse for comment.
