October 9, 2015 — A fourth victim of the Salmonella outbreak at Chipotle in August has filed a lawsuit, KSTP News reports.
The victim, Kent Smith, ate at a Chipotle in Shoreview on September 5. He fell ill four days later and was hospitalized for another two days. While in the hospital, a stool sample tested positive for Salmonella Newport.
The outbreak strain of Salmonella was discovered on tomatoes at Chipotle, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
Despite efforts to trace the tomatoes back to a single farm, no recalls were issued. However, CNN reports that Chipotle removed tomatoes from its Minnesota restaurants and changed produce suppliers.
At least 64 illnesses were reported in August, with the earliest illness reported on August 19. Nine people were hospitalized, and all are recovering. Unfortunately, Smith alleges that he continues to suffer from gastrointestinal dysfunction and requires follow-up medical care.
Salmonella is one of the most common causes of food poisoning. Most people who are infected suffer from 4-7 days of fever, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite.
However, health officials warn that infections can become life-threatening, especially for high-risk populations:
“In some people, the diarrhea may be so severe that they need to be hospitalized. In these patients, the Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.”
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