FIVE ILL FROM E. COLI OUTBREAK
Restaurant voluntarily closes until investigation completed Unknown if outbreak linked to Canada-wide meat recall
A Regina restaurant has temporarily closed its doors after five of its customers tested positive for E.coli.
“During our investigation of these cases, there was one specific factor that was common to all five of the cases and that was the fact that they ate at a local restaurant in Regina,” said Dr. Tania Diener, medical health officer with the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region.
Flip Eatery and Drink voluntarily closed Tuesday and will remain so while health officials continue their investigation.
Health officials have not determined if the E.coli cases are linked to the national beef recall.
Diener said the restaurant is routinely inspected by the region’s health inspectors and in the past there were no concerns about food safety management at the establishment.
“Since we became aware of this situation we’ve done two follow-up inspections and once again we do not have any concerns about critical issues identified in this restaurant,” Diener said.
Public health is notified of all positive E.coli test results.
Of the five people who tested positive, one was hospitalized, Diener said.
She expressed appreciation to the restaurant for voluntarily closing while the investigation is underway.
“The reason that we wanted to do this today was to make sure that our customers and the people around in the community are aware that we have public safety in mind at all times,” said Timothy Martin, one of the owners of Flip Eatery and Drink. “We have been working through this investigation with the health department ... With where we are at now, we all decided that it was in the best interest in the middle of this investigation to close the doors to see that we can execute and finalize the investigation in a timely manner.”
He said the restaurant will open as soon as possible.
The first case of E.coli was identified on Sept. 24 and the second case on the following day.
“We had two cases from one family that ate two different food products,” said Robert Schuba, manager of the region’s environmental health department.
The first inspection of the restaurant was done Sept. 25. Three more cases were identified on Sunday and a second inspection was done Monday.
Not all of the people who got sick ate dishes with beef in them.
Health officials are interviewing the staff and anybody who handled food at the restaurant.
“We’ve taken a number of food samples and we’re continuing to look into all of the food handling practices and procedures,” Schuba said.
To this point, the investigation has not identified any employees who were ill at the time that the customers got sick.
E.coli can be transmitted through contaminated food or from person to person. Proper cooking and handwashing techniques are crucial in preventing the transmission of the organism.
“A person might actually be excreting this organism in their stool,” Diener said. “They might not be symptomatic yet so if you don’t wash your hands well, that is one way of contracting the disease.
“As you know from the beef recall, E.coli can be in beef products and this is the other situation we are currently dealing with nationally.”
Diener said it’s important to realize there might be a lot of unknown E.coli in the community.
“We shouldn’t just think of one restaurant in this case,” she said. “We have a national beef recall. We all might have products in our fridges and freezers that we might not have noticed have been recalled. We don’t know what the future is going to hold in terms of that.”
She urges anyone with symptoms consistent with an E.coli infection to consult a health-care provider.
Symptoms might include a fever, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
“It’s when it gets to the bloody diarrhea that we start to get concerned about those situations,” Diener said.
Contracting the infection is particularly risky for pregnant women, small children, the elderly and those who are immune-suppressed.