Due to the large number of ill employees, and the high potential for spread of this illness, Chili’s was required to cease all operation or face suspension or revocation of its food service permit, at which time Chili’s management made the decision to voluntarily close the establishment.
Despite the initial voluntary closure of the restaurant, Chili’s management pushed to reopen it almost immediately, arguing that workers from other restaurants could safely run the operation. LCHD refused because the source of Salmonella was still not known, and it could have been in a food item still on the premises, or some other contamination at the restaurant itself. Following closure, investigators collected an additional 38 stool samples from employees and interviewed them. Two symptomatic employees revealed that they worked at two other restaurants located in Lake County. These other two restaurants were then inspected, and the two employees were restricted from working there until it could be demonstrated that they were no longer infected with Salmonella. Finally, that afternoon, LCHD drafted and sent a letter by certified mail to the management of the Vernon Hills Chili’s restaurant detailing the reasons for the closure of the premises. On July 2, investigators returned to Chili’s and collected 50 more employee stool samples, then issued a press release advising the public of the outbreak. People who had eaten at the restaurant between June 23 and July 1 were instructed to seek medical help if ill, and to report their illness to the health department. Just a few hours later, LCHD was flooded with telephone complaints of illness from people who had eaten at the restaurant. LCHD had to enlist the aid of two additional communicable disease nurses to help interview all of the people calling in about the outbreak. The next day, on July 3, LCHD received a call from a customer that had dined at Chili’s on June 27. She informed LCHD that the establishment had no running water while she had been there for lunch. The customer estimated that Chili’s had no water for at least an hour or two. This was information that Chili’s management had not thought it necessary to share with investigators at the time of their initial interviews. On July 7, LCHD received notice from the lab that the stool samples of seventeen employees had cultured positive for Salmonella. One of the employees had also worked at the Chili’s restaurant located in Gurnee, which was immediately inspected. This was the fourth restaurant potentially implicated in the Salmonella outbreak as a result of infected Chili’s employees working at more than one restaurant. Returning to the Vernon Hills Chili’s restaurant, LCHD investigators interviewed restaurant managers again and confirmed that there had been no water during the lunch rush on June 27, and no hot water the entire day before. No one could explain why the decision was made to keep the restaurant open in violation of food safety regulations requiring that hot water be available at all times during a restaurant’s operation. Meanwhile, Chili’s corporate office discussed with LCHD officials the possibility of reopening the restaurant on July 10 or 11, believing that enough previously infected employees would test negative by then. A request was therefore made for a pre-opening inspection to occur on July 9 to clear the restaurant for reopening. LCHD tentatively agreed to do so pending confirmation of a sufficient number of negative Salmonella stool cultures from employees. On the afternoon of July 8, LCHD issued a statement announcing that 31 cases of salmonellosis had by that time been confirmed, and well over 100 cases were suspected to be related to the Chili’s outbreak. Of the confirmed cases, 14 had eaten at the restaurant, and 17 others were employees. Investigators inspected the restaurant on July 10, and then again on July 11 right before it’s reopening. LCHD staff provided a hand-washing demonstration for Chili’s employees, and then formally gave approval to operate. Chili’s reopened at 11 a.m. for lunch. The restaurant had been closed for over two weeks as a result of the outbreak. At the time of the restaurant’s reopening, a total of 19 employees and 67 patrons had been confirmed positive for Salmonella, with an additional 128 cases suspected to be linked to the outbreak. Of the total cases at that point, nine had been serious enough to require hospitalization. On July 12, Chili’s management called LCHD to notify it that the restaurant again had no hot water. This time it ceased operation pending completion of additional repairs. Once it opened again, LCHD investigators continued to inspect the restaurant daily. On July 16, the results of microbiological testing performed on food samples from the restaurant, and from leftovers provided by customers, came back from the lab. Only two food samples had tested positive for Salmonella, both from customer leftovers: one from the Vernon Hills restaurant, and one from the Gurnee restaurant. By July 18, LCHD concluded its investigation and determined the outbreak was under control. No secondary cases had been reported, but over 300 individuals had been sickened as a result of consuming contaminated food at a Chili’s. Of those, 141 customers and 28 employees had tested positive for the Salmonella bacteria, while 105 other infected individuals met the LCHD’s definition of a probable case. It was by this time also determined that the Salmonella associated with the outbreak was serotype javiana, a relatively rare and virulent strain of Salmonella often associated with foodborne transmission. Once the LCHD believed the outbreak was controlled, the department sent a letter by certified mail informing the restaurant’s management of a hearing scheduled for July 31 to discuss their failure to cease operations during periods where no hot water, or no water at all, was available, failure to adequately monitor their employees’ health, and the steps management had implemented to prevent future outbreaks. Following the hearing, Executive Director Dale Galassie stated that Chili’s had violated local ordinances by remaining open and serving customers while without available water. Although LCHD decided not to pursue punitive measures against Chili’s and its management, the department sent a letter to Chili’s corporate parent requesting reimbursement of outbreak-related investigation costs, including testing and training of staff, in the total amount of $32,500. Galassie stated:
“(t)hese were extraordinary circumstances. There were excessive costs in dealing with (the outbreak) and therefore we are requesting reimbursement. The good news is that it prevented a secondary outbreak as a result of cooperation of the Chili’s corporation, local media, and ourselves, but it doesn’t excuse poor local management decisions made that caused it.”
After a relatively lengthy, silent delay, it was announced on Dec. 2, 2003, that Chili’s agreed to reimburse the LCHD for the costs associated with the outbreak. In addition, that Chili’s location was closed. (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)