The Harvey County Health Department has reviewed the Preliminary Report with Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Bureau of Epidemiology. The Preliminary Report will be available for public review.

The Preliminary Report suggests the outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis was associated with the Acapulco restaurant in Harvey County through routine surveillance happening between June 2 and June 10. The two food items associated with illness were the pico de gallo and guacamole.

The three reasons sited by KDHE as possible cause are food preparation procedures, cross contamination, or contaminated produce. The Kansas Department of Agriculture in charge of produce safety and distribution in Kansas and their report will be forthcoming. A final report will be published on the website later when Kansas Department of Agriculture has finalized their investigation.

It is important that the public know that all restaurant violations sited at the Acapulco restaurant by Bureau of Consumer Health were corrected immediately. “The Acapulco restaurant has served the community for almost 20 years and we believe it is safe to eat there today,” stated Rita Flickinger, Harvey County Public Health Officer.

Although the Harvey County Health Department is not responsible for restaurant inspections, we continue to take consumer complaints of food handling procedures and refer them to the appropriate agency.

Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. The elderly, infants and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.

We will continue to take reports of illnesses believed to be food borne. We do ask that you go to your physician to be tested. If you do not have a physician, please call the Harvey County Health Department at 283-1637 or 1-800-414-4244.