Shigella, an intestinal diarrheal disease, has been confirmed in 72 of 182 ill people linked with Mariscos San Juan #3 restaurant at 205 N. Fourth St., public health officials said.
Two San Jose men and one woman who ate at the restaurant and caught shigella filed separate lawsuits last week alleging negligence against the restaurant owners. The suits were filed through Rains Lucia Stern in California and Marler Clark, a Seattle-based firm specializing in food-borne illness litigation.
The total breaks down to 144 cases in Santa Clara County and 38 across the other four counties, public health officials said.
Of the 72 people with a confirmed infection, 55 are in Santa Clara County while the remaining 17 are in Santa Cruz, Alameda, Marin and Merced counties, according to public health officials.
Eight adults and a child in Alameda County have been confirmed with the infection, Alameda County public health spokeswoman Sherri Willis said.
In Santa Cruz County, three people have been found with shigella, one being through a secondary source, and two others are suspected to have the illness.
San Mateo County Health System officials have reported three confirmed cases of shigella.
The restaurant was closed on Oct. 18 after a majority of the sick people ate there one or two days earlier. Inspectors from the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health continue to investigate the outbreak.