13 local salmonella cases confirmed

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Updated: September 29, 2011 12:37AM

Health officials say 13 people now have been confirmed as having contracted salmonella, suspected to have come from a St. Charles restaurant.

The Kane County Health Department issued a press release Friday saying it and the Illinois Department of Public Health, along with other local health departments, continue to investigate the outbreak of salmonella typhimurium in northeast Illinois.

The 13 confirmed cases all had an infection with the same PFGE, or genetic, code.

Of the 13, seven are from Kane County, four are from DuPage, one from Cook and one from Minnesota. A potential common link is that nine of the 13 reported eating at the Portillo’s restaurant in St. Charles during the month of April, according to the release.

Nine are female and four are male, with their ages ranging from 17 to 64. Three of the patients were hospitalized, but all have since been released.

Portillo’s “is actively cooperating with the investigation, having cleaned and sanitized the building Monday night and discarded all food items, except for samples that were collected by Kane County Health Department staff to send to the IDPH lab for testing,” the release said.

It also noted the restaurant is paying the cost of testing its employees. Results from those employee tests are expected in the next few days. None of the employees are allowed to return to work until they have had two tests showing they are not infected, according to the Health Department.

Portillo’s has transferred employees from other locations to its St. Charles restaurant and remains open, the release said.

Most persons infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days, and most persons recover without treatment or ever visiting a doctor, the Health Department said.

Health officials are recommending that anyone who ate at the St. Charles Portillo’s between April 15 and May 6 and had or currently has these symptoms to call the Kane County Health Department at (847) 608-2128 or visit their personal physician.