Lombard Subway shop shut in food poisoning probe
A Subway restaurant in Lombard has been closed by the DuPage County Health Department after several customers contracted gastrointestinal illnesses, officials said Thursday.
Health Department officials said in a statement that eight cases of shigellosis, an infectious disease caused by a bacterium called shigella, have been confirmed. Four people were hospitalized, according to the statement.
The Health Department said the restaurant at 1009 E. Roosevelt Road has been closed pending additional results of an investigation. Owners of the restaurant and representatives of Subway's corporate offices were cooperating with health officials, according to the statement.
Health officials said most people infected with the bacterium develop a gastrointestinal illness, including diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach cramps one to two days after being exposed to it.
Illness can pass from one infected person to the next and can also be acquired from eating contaminated food.
Maryann O'Neill, principal of nearby Montini Catholic High School in Lombard, said two students called in sick Wednesday with what she said was diagnosed as food poisoning, and it was her understanding they had eaten at Subway. One of the students was taken to a hospital emergency room.
"It is scary," said O'Neill, noting that the Subway sandwich shop is one of several restaurants in the area that students go to after school and practices.
The infection can be stopped by carefully washing hands with soap and water. Those with shigellosis should not prepare foods and beverages to be consumed by others, officials said.
Freelancer Victoria Pierce contributed.
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