Sherman Oaks, CASarah and her son had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant; two days later they both became violently sick but at first thought it was the flu. "When I phoned the health department, they told me that all too often, people don't report food poisoning," says Sara. "But when two people become ill from eating basically the same food at the same restaurant, it is classified as a "foodborne epidemic."
The symptoms Sara and her son had are often described as "stomach flu" or "24-hour flu". However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suspect that many intestinal illnesses are actually caused by foodborne pathogens. The "flu" is basically a respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that are spread from person-to-person through coughing or sneezing. But if diarrheal symptoms occur without respiratory symptoms, a person may actually have food poisoning. That is why most people don't bother filing a complaint—they chalk it up to "stomach flu".
Sara (not her real name) said they always order the same items at the restaurant—she has the chicken bowl and her son opts for the chicken burrito. That was Wednesday night; Sara woke up on Friday morning with diarrhea and projectile vomiting; her son had left for work but within an hour he was back home with the same symptoms.
"We were sick all weekend," says Sara. "My son is in his 20s and he is very healthy but we were so ill—I haven't thrown up like that since I was pregnant.
I had a hotel room booked the next day for my 60th birthday—talk about bad timing. And I had to pay for it. I didn't go to the doctor and that was my mistake, but I did call poison control. They said that it sounds like food poisoning and recommended calling the Los Angeles County Health Department. I called them Monday morning and also called the restaurant.
The restaurant manager said that nobody else had been sick. 'We haven't had a complaint like this for 7 months,' he said. 'You shouldn't have any complaints,' I replied. I also told him that I called the County Health Department. He said it must have been the protein we ate—either the chicken or the beans. He said we could get our money back and we could drop by and get it. How generous. Then I phoned the restaurant chain's main office. One owner I spoke to was very condescending. He suggested I submit a bill for my hotel room and they had insurance to cover it…
In the meantime I got the report from the health department. The Health Inspector went to the restaurant and specifically inspected for temperature and sanitation; the two main culprits for food poisoning. The restaurant was cited for incorrect food and reheating temperatures as well as a dirty knife in the same drawer as the clean knives. They were ordered to remedy the temperature and sanitation issues immediately.
I wrote a certified letter to the owners and said I wanted to be reimbursed for the hotel room. Several weeks went by and still no response so I went online and wrote a review on yelp.com, saying how we got food poisoning and they ignored us. The next day I got a call from the restaurant's insurance company—someone was paying attention. He asked if we went to the doctor. 'Well how do you know you were sick?' he said. I was angry, not only with this question, but because I didn't go to the doctor. I waited a few more weeks and the insurance company sent me a letter saying that I didn't have a claim.
No matter how sick you are, get your butt to the doctor. A food borne outbreak means that more than one person gets sick—there were two of us and I am sure more people got sick from that restaurant, but probably thought they had the flu."
How to Protect Yourself in Restaurants
For the years 1993 through1997, the most commonly reported food preparation practice that contributed to foodborne disease was improper holding temperature; the second most commonly reported practice was inadequate cooking of food. In most outbreaks caused by bacterial pathogens, the food was stored at improper holding temperatures.
Restaurants must be inspected by the local health department to make sure they meet certain standards. You can find out how restaurants 'scored' on their latest inspections and in many areas, restaurants are required to post their last inspection in their facility.
As well, you can ask the restaurant if the staff is required to have a food safety certificate, particularly the kitchen staff.
You can also protect yourself from foodborne disease when ordering specific foods. Ask that your hamburger be cooked to a temperature of 160oF and send it back if it is still pink in the middle. Pay attention to food recalls such as the latest alfalfa sprout recall and the spice recall—try to avoid these foods.
When in Doubt, See Your Doctor
Food poisoning is usually diagnosed by laboratory tests that identify bacteria such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli O157 which are found by culturing stool samples. However, the CDC says many foodborne infections are not identified by routine laboratory procedures and require specialized, experimental, and/or expensive tests that are not generally available. If the diagnosis is to be made, the patient has to seek medical attention, the physician must decide to order diagnostic tests, and the laboratory must use the appropriate procedures.
See your doctor if your diarrhea lasts more than a day or two, if you have severe abdominal pain, or if you have a fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, if you have blood in your stool or if your stool appears black and tarry, or if you have signs of dehydration.
Sara and her son likely had salmonellosis from the bacterium Salmonella that is widespread in the intestines of birds, reptiles and mammals. The illness typically includes fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. In persons with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, it can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections.
The CDC estimates that 38 cases of salmonellosis actually occur for every case that is actually diagnosed and reported to public health authorities. It also estimates that 76 million foodborne illness cases occur in the United States every year: that means one in four Americans becoming ill after eating foods contaminated with such pathogens as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, Campylobacter, Shigella, Norovirus, and Listeria. If your flu-like symptoms could be food poisoning, you should see a doctor and insist on laboratory tests. And you might want to seek legal help.