Seven confirmed cases of Shigella have caused the Onondaga County Health Department in Syracuse, NY to warn up to 9,000 Applebee customers that they too might have been exposed to the bacteria. The restaurant involved is located in Camillus, NY, about 11 miles east of Syracuse. WSYR-TV reports that:
County Health Commissioner Dr. Cynthia Morrow says all seven people had contracted Shigellosis. The Shigella bacteria, Morrow says, is associated with consuming water or food contaminated with fecal matter.
Those who are confirmed ill ate at the restaurant on either Saturday, March 7th or Sunday, March 8th, but the overall window that the Health Department is looking at is between Sunday, March 1st and Friday, March 20th.
The station said the health department waited until Tuesday to announce the illnesses because it had sent stool samples to the lab, and had just gotten the results back. The Applebee’s remains open. Employees are being tested.
For more on the outbreak, go here.