FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. — More than 30 people have contacted a food poisoning lawyer seeking representation for cases linked to a LongHorn Steakhouse in Fairview Heights, the Lange Law Firm told 5 On Your Side Friday.
"Our phones have been ringing off the hook with people who ate at this restaurant and got sick," lawyer Jory Lange told 5 On Your Side Thursday. "People are very upset and a little shaken due to this. We've talked to people who are just coming out of the hospital or who've been in the emergency room recently, and this has upended their lives."
The restaurant is indefinitely closed as St. Clair County health officials investigate the Shigella infections. Anyone who has eaten at the restaurant since Sept. 21 and developed diarrhea within four days after eating are asked to consult with their physicians.
Symptoms, which sometimes do not develop until days after the initial infection, can be very serious and in rare cases deadly, experts said.
What is Shigella?
The germs that cause Shigella infections spread easily through an infected person's stool, according to the Mayo Clinic. If the germs are swallowed through eating tainted food, swallowing tainted water, or even touching their mouths, the germs can cause an intestinal infection.
"It can be foodborne or waterborne, and it can even be transmitted through sexual contact," said Dr. Farrin Manian, Chief Department of Medicine and Infectious Disease Specialist at Mercy Hospital St. Louis. "The primary source of Shigella is essentially fecal excrements of people who may be carrying it without even knowing about it or people who have diarrhea."
Once infected, the Shigella bacteria trigger symptoms including bloody diarrhea, stomach pain, and fever lasting five to seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The infection can also, in rare cases, cause reactive arthritis, bloodstream infections, and seizures.
Who is most at risk for Shigella infection?
"It can be very severe, especially in children, people who have immunocompromised systems, or even healthy people," Manian said.
The Mayo Clinic listed other risk factors for the infection, including:
- Living in group housing or doing group activities.
- Living or traveling in areas that lack clean water and sewage disposal services.
- Sexual contact that involves the anus.
- Experiencing homelessness.
How to prevent Shigella from spreading
Washing hands often, throwing away soiled diapers, and disinfecting diaper-changing areas and any other exposed surfaces all help prevent Shigella infection, according to the Mayo Clinic.
If a child has diarrhea or a known shigella infection, they should be kept home while sick, restricted from going swimming, and shouldn't prepare food for others. Anyone in the child's proximity should also wash their hands well and often.
"If somebody is already improving and feels pretty mild symptoms, we don't have to treat it with antibiotics because it can be very self-limiting," Manian said. "But we can give antibiotics to those who have bloody diarrhea, a fever, or are sick enough to be in the hospital. There are a couple of antibiotics that we rely on for effective treatment, and people have to take that for several days."