Certain Subway restaurants in 14 Illinois counties have been linked to a salmonella outbreak involving the rare strain Hvittingfoss. The Illinois Department of Public Health and local health departments throughout the state are investigating the cause of salmonella illnesses among customers who ate at certain Subway restaurants in Illinois. To date, 34 cases of salmonella have been confirmed with this outbreak and all are recovering, of which 14 had been hospitalized.
Salmonella cases identified in this outbreak reported eating at Subway locations in the following counties: Sangamon, Schuyler, Christian, Bureau, LaSalle, Cass, Champaign, Peoria, Shelby, Warren, Macon, Ogle, Fulton and Tazewell. At this point in the investigation, no cases have reported eating at Subway restaurants in either northeastern or southernmost portions of Illinois. Illnesses are reported to have started between May 14 and May 25 and cases range in age from 6 to 88 years old.
As a precaution, Subway has voluntarily withdrawn all lettuce, green peppers, red onion and tomatoes within the suspected date range from its restaurants and has replaced the product with new, fresh produce, the company said in a statement. To date, there has been no positive or confirmed association with a specific product.
"We are aware of the investigation currently being conducted by the State of Illinois Department of Public Health and are cooperating fully as they attempt to pinpoint the exact product in question and its origin," the company said. "The Subway brand will continue to work with the Department of Health to assist in pinpointing the exact cause of the outbreak."
From the statement:
Along with regular inspections from health agencies, each Subway restaurant is inspected monthly by staff from the local Subway development office, which works with each franchise owner with regard to staff training, proper food preparation, handling and storage procedures, and customer service. Additionally, we require our produce vendors to maintain a very high standard while conducting business and are inspected regularly by us and by third-party auditors.
The rare type of Salmonella Hvittingfoss involved in this outbreak typically involves only one to two cases in Illinois per year.
The Illinois Department of Public Health encourages anyone experiencing gastrointestinal illness within six to 72 hours after eating at Subway restaurants in Illinois on or after May 10, 2010, to contact their health care provider or local health department.
Unrelated outbreak
The outbreak is unrelated to multiple incidents of shigellosis in March in Lombard, Ill., in DuPage County, to which a Subway restaurant was linked. The restaurant was closed for about a month during the investigation, which resulted in more than 50 lawsuits against Subway and no definitive conclusion. The Food Poison Journal reports that the DuPage County Health Department confirmed 125 cases of shigellosis in that outbreak has yet to disclose its findings, "but it is widely suspected that cross-contamination by ill employees was a cause of the outbreak."
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