Salmonella outbreak traced to Taste booth - 17 cases reported, health officials say

Salmonella outbreak traced to Taste booth - 17 cases reported, health officials say
By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons and Robert Mitchum
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Published July 12, 2007

As the city began to receive reports of people getting sick after attending the Taste of Chicago, the visitors had one thing in common: They all had eaten at the Pars Cove Persian Cuisine booth.

The Lincoln Park eatery's stand was identified Wednesday as the source of a salmonella outbreak, the first one confirmed at the festival in 20 years. The contaminated food sickened as many as 17 people, including three who were hospitalized.

City health officials still are trying to pinpoint which of the restaurant's Taste dishes, which included cucumber hummus and pomegranate chicken among others, was the culprit.

The first confirmed case of the food-borne illness was reported to health officials Monday, and more came in, prompting the city to notify the public about the outbreak Wednesday and to warn people of the symptoms and causes behind the common bacteria, which is spread by eating foods contaminated with animal feces. The Taste of Chicago ended Sunday.

"People can get pretty sick from salmonella. It can cause diarrhea with a fever and chills," said Terry Mason, Chicago's commissioner of public health.

City health officials began conducting phone interviews this week with those who reported being ill to narrow down the source of the outbreak. Their responses to questions about what they ate in the days leading up to their stomach problems led to one conclusion, officials said.

"Pars Cove was the only booth in common among all 17 cases," said Susan Gerber, the Health Department's medical director for communicable diseases.

At least one of those hospitalized in the outbreak says it had to be the hummus.

Andrea Darlas, an anchor for WGN Radio's "Spike O'Dell Show," said she tested positive for the bacteria after eating the dish June 29. Intense stomach problems followed for days after before she was admitted last Friday to Palos Community Hospital, Darlas said.

"It was terrible, very painful," she said. "It was like the worst flu of your life. I never in a million years though it was salmonella."

The 34-year-old North Sider said she usually sticks to a slice of pizza and an ice cream cone at the festival but decided to try something new.

"This year, I thought I would try to spice it up a little," she laughed. "I love the Taste. I'll just stick with my rainbow cone next year."

City officials were quick to point out how few people were affected by the outbreak out of 3.5 million visitors to the festival. Salmonella is a very common bacteria, they added.

Officials said were perplexed by the salmonella outbreak because their inspection process at the festival is thorough. Four Health Department inspectors comb the booths at Taste of Chicago looking for problems, stopping at each of 70 booths at least four times daily, officials said.

They measure the temperature of the dishes with a digital thermometer and routinely throw out trays of food that are not up to code. Each year, they toss about 2,000 pounds of food and, in effect, can shut down a booth if they trash its entire supply, officials said.

Inspectors threw out food from the Pars Cove booth at least once at this year's Taste of Chicago, although the Health Department did not make its records of the incident available Wednesday.

The city, which is leading the investigation, notified state officials of the outbreak Tuesday, said Connie Austin of the Illinois Department of Public Health. State labs conduct "serotyping" tests on stool samples of people with confirmed cases of salmonella to identify which of the more than 1,000 strains is involved, Austin said. The Heidelberg variety was found in people who got sick after eating at the Taste of Chicago, she said.

In recent days, state labs have confirmed nine cases of stomach illness caused by the Heidelberg strain of salmonella. The number of victims could increase as doctors report patients with salmonella and more serotyping and interviews are completed, she said.

As news of the salmonella outbreak spread Wednesday, the Persian restaurant at 435 W. Diversey Pkwy. was still open for business. Health officials inspected Pars Cove the last two days and tested stool samples from workers for the bacteria.

The inspectors this week found several violations at the restaurant, including unsanitary conditions, improper refrigeration and mouse droppings, said Frances Guichard, director of food protection for the Chicago Department of Public Health. The eatery, which has no record of major problems with the department, was fined $250 for the rodent issues, she said.

Max Pars, the restaurant's owner of 30 years, says he doesn't know how the contamination happened.

"It's very surprising," he said of outbreak. "We did everything properly. We were under supervision by the Health Department constantly."

City officials also defended the decision to announce the outbreak several days after the Taste of Chicago was over. Mason said it can take days for the symptoms to materialize, and even then it can take more days for someone to consult a physician and to receive test results.,.

"While salmonella is very common and most people recover on their own with no need for treatment, we're not taking any chances with this situation," he said. "In some cases, salmonella can be quite dangerous for the very young, the very old and people with weakened immune systems."

Dr. Gary Noskin, professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at Northwestern University, agreed with that assessment, saying that symptoms present 12 to 72 hours after exposure, and after the patient seeks medical help, it takes a further 24 to 48 hours for testing to confirm the presence of salmonella.

Tracing the salmonella back to its source can be very difficult, and, Noskin said, the investigation is complex, especially since those affected may not even be from the Chicago area.

"Food histories are notoriously unreliable," Noskin said. "Nevertheless, what the Health Department will do is find where people ate, where exposures were, to try to determine if there's anything in common."

Ald. Ed Smith (28th), chairman of the City Council's Health Committee, said he will consider holding a public hearing into the outbreak after he gets more information.

"If there is a need, there will be a hearing," he said. "We always want to make sure the public gets the facts."

But Smith said he does not expect the outbreak to hurt the reputation of the annual food festival.

"There is a long-standing, extraordinarily good record with the Taste," he said. "This is the first time I ever heard of any adversity about any vendor."

Department of Public Health records posted online show that Pars Cove passed a May 11 inspection. Four violations were noted but were deemed minor in nature.

Near the Pars Cove restaurant Wednesday, one loyal diner said the outbreak wouldn't stop her from eating there again.

"It's unfortunate, but isolated incidents like that happen, especially in the heat," said Gina Demke, who lives in the Lakeview neighborhood.

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If you think you were affected

People who are experiencing diarrhea, fever and chills after eating at the Taste of Chicago should consult a doctor and call the city's 311 hot line to report the illness, said Terry Mason, Chicago's commissioner of public health. Those living outside Chicago may call 312-744-5000.

Individuals who are suffering from salmonella poisoning should wash their hands and cook food thoroughly to ensure the bacteria doesn't spread, Mason said.

Tribune staff reporters Helen Eckinger, Gary Washburn and Jeremy Gorner contributed to this report

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efitzsimmons@tribune.com

rmitchum@tribune.com