Three people who ate at a franchised Qdoba Mexican Grill in Firestone contracted typhoid fever in August, health department officials said Monday.
Two of the individuals were hospitalized, but all three have recovered from the illness, according to the Weld County Health Department.
State and Weld County health officials believe that the disease was spread by an infected food handler, who didn’t have symptoms.
“Since they have been identified they are receiving treatment and are not in a position where they are working with food at this time,” said Eric Aakko, division director, for the Weld Department of Public Health and Environment.
“Typhoid fever is very rare,” Dr. Mark E. Wallace, executive director of the Weld County Health Department, said in a release. “The good news is the illness is treatable with antibiotics. Simply having eaten at the restaurant is not a reason to see your health care provider. Only those currently exhibiting symptoms should contact their health care provider.”
Signs of typhoid fever include a sustained fever as high as 104 degrees. Infected individuals can also feel weak, or have stomach pains, headache or loss of appetite. In some cases, patients have a rash of flat, rose-colored spots.
The only way to know for sure if an illness is typhoid fever is to have stool samples or blood tested for the presence of Salmonella typhi, a life-threatening bacterial infection.
The Health Department has received no reports of sick individuals since mid-October.
Qdoba management and employees have cooperated in the investigation.
“There is no reason to close the restaurant,” which is located at 11169 E. Interstate 25 Frontage Rd., Aakko said.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has issued a statewide message to health care providers notifying them of the typhoid cases
For more information, contact the Colorado CO-HELP telephone number at 877-462-2911. A typhoid fever fact sheet can be found at www.weldhealth.org.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or @dpmcghee
