tarheelThe Salmonella outbreak connected with the Tarheel Q restaurant in Lexington, NC, has been deemed over with at least 280 people sickened, according to a July 28 case count. One person died.

The designation was announced after two incubation periods (six days for most Salmonella cases) had passed without new illnesses since the restaurant reopened. Local health departments will no longer accept additional reports of illness.

The 280 cases were distributed across 21 North Carolina counties and 6 states. Of the North Carolina cases, 77 percent were residents of Davidson County and Davie County.

Laboratory testing indicated that the BBQ sample and a sample from a patient who became ill during the beginning of the outbreak were both positive for Salmonella species. The serogroup was Typhimurium, and both samples had the same PFGE pattern (DNA fingerprint). Three additional patients had a different PFGE pattern.

Fifty-eight percent of those sickened were male, 42 percent were between the ages of 20 and 49, and 9 percent had been hospitalized. Most cases had illness onset dates between June 16 and June 21.