Typhoid Fever Cases Traced to Qdoba in Colorado

Three confirmed cases of typhoid fever have been traced to a Qdoba Mexican Grill in Firestone, Colo.

The outbreak occurred in August and all three patients, two of which were hospitalized, have now recovered, CBS Denver reports.

Epidemiologist Dr. Lisa Miller of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said the source of the outbreak was a food handler who spread the salmonella typhi bacteria. As for how it got into the food, Miller told CBS, “Someone sheds it in their feces and contaminated food or directly contaminated something that somebody else ingests.”

Eric Aakko, a spokesperson for the Weld County Health Department, said the worker is no longer handling food at Qdoba and that there is currently no evidence of a public health risk.

“We are still doing some follow up investigation with former employees of the restaurant to rule out anyone else who may have become sick,” Aakko said. “The restaurant is being very cooperative with the investigation so right now our department and the state health department feels comfortable that there’s no need to close the restaurant.”

Qdoba said in a statement, “Although the restaurant’s operations have not been impacted, as a precaution the franchisee stepped up sanitation of all touch points in the restaurant and discarded all food the worker may have been in contact with.”

Typhoid fever is rare in the U.S. and most cases are travelers who contracted the disease overseas.

[CBS]