The Miami-Dade Health Department said today that a cook at the Bayside Chili’s restaurant has a confirmed case of a serious, contagious illness and likely prepared food with it for some time before it was finally diagnosed. The cook had gone to work with Typhoid fever for at least 10 days before going to the doctor.
According to news reports, every employee at the Chili’s is being examined to see if the disease was spread to them, but there may not be any way to get to the hundreds of people who may have consumed food prepared by the contaminated cook.
Typhoid fever is caused by Salmonella Typhi, a bacteria that can be “passed” on through fecal/oral contact by eating or drinking something prepared by someone with the illness.