An Oklahoma woman has sued Taco Bell, alleging that contaminated food it served caused her to become very ill with Salmonella infection.

The 22-year-old Cleveland County resident said in her complaint that she ate at a Taco Bell restaurant on Nov. 3, 2011.  Two days later, on a Saturday, she began suffering from painful abdominal cramps and multiple bouts of diarrhea, including while she was attending a University of Oklahoma football game.

After developing bloody diarrhea the following day, she was treated at an emergency clinic and later had to seek medical attention several more times as her condition continued to worsen.

The woman’s symptoms persisted for about two weeks, causing her to miss several days of work.

A stool specimen tested positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said infected at least 68 individuals in 10 states.

Outbreak cases were confirmed in Texas, where 43 people were sickened, and in Oklahoma, where 16 people were infected.  Kansas reported two outbreak cases while Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio and Tennessee each reported one.

Although the CDC has identified the likely source of the widespread outbreak only as “Mexican-style fast food restaurant Chain A,” both the Oklahoma State Department of Health and the Michigan State Department of Health disclosed that the suspect food was traced to Taco Bell.

The woman is being represented by the law firm Beeler, Walsh & Walsh in Oklahoma City and by the law firm Marler Clark in Seattle.  Marler Clark sponsors Food Safety News.