A lawsuit was filed Monday in Hopkins County against a Madisonville restaurant following an outbreak of a parasitic illness that can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps and other digestive tract-related issues.
Last week, the Hopkins County Health Department announced an outbreak of Giardia – a parasite that the Centers for Disease Control and Infection says can spread easily from person to person or through contaminated food, water, surfaces and objects. Health officials reported that at least 24 cases of Giardia had been diagnosed in the last month – which they say is an unusually high number for the western Kentucky county.
On Friday, the health department said over half of the Giardia cases had been linked to the Madisonville restaurant El Tapatio. According to an agency release, environmentalists inspecting the restaurant found that the walk-in refrigerator had temperatures “outside of the recommended range.” In response, the department said the food that was in the walk-in would be thrown out, and that the restaurant would be closed for maintenance. Health department workers will also offer food service training to restaurant employees.
Officials said the restaurant is cooperating with the investigation from the Hopkins County Health Department and the Kentucky Department for Public Health, and that other potential Giardia sources were also being investigated.
Attorneys representing a client who ate at El Tapatio in late June and was subsequently diagnosed with Giardia argue the restaurant is liable for the harm that came from eating allegedly contaminated food.
One of the attorneys, Jory Lange, said while the lawsuit is seeking compensation for the plaintiff to help pay for medical bills and lost wages, he also wants the restaurant to be held accountable to food safety standards and “make them do a better job in the future.”
“The way this parasite gets in the food, it's a fecal to oral route of exposure, so it's basically someone's using the restroom, not properly washing their hands and then handling food,” Lange said.
Giardia is expelled from the body through stool. The parasite can be found in lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. It can also end up in pools or spas if people with the disease use those facilities. Giardia can also spread through food – either when people preparing meals don’t wash their hands thoroughly enough or when raw produce is washed with contaminated water.
Symptoms of the parasitic disease – which usually develop one to two weeks after becoming infected with the parasite – include diarrhea, stomach cramps and foul-smelling, greasy feces that can float. Giardia can survive for weeks or months outside of the body – including in soil. According to the CDC, symptoms can last for two to six weeks. Sometimes, people can have long-term symptoms that last for years.
The Hopkins County Health Department advises those who are experiencing diarrhea not to go to work – especially if their job is in the food service, daycare or healthcare sectors – until they have gone 24 hours without experiencing symptoms.
The health agency said an epidemiologist will be in contact with people who are diagnosed with Giardia to continue an investigation into the outbreak.
