Dozens of customers get sick after eating at San Jose seafood restaurant

A San Jose seafood restaurant remained closed Monday after more than 40 customers became sick -- with some being admitted to intensive care -- after eating there.

Mariscos San Juan restaurant at 205 N. 4th St. was closed Sunday morning after the Santa Clara County Public Health Department received dozens of reports of ill individuals, with at least 15 of the cases confirmed as shigellosis, a diarrheal disease caused by bacteria called shigella.

Most of the sick had to be admitted to hospitals, and 12 went to intensive care, county public health officials said.

Symptoms of shigellosis include diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain and vomiting. It is spread by eating or drinking something that has come into contact with the stool of a person infected with shigella.

County public health officials suspect the disease was spread by an infected food handler.

“Our top priority is to protect the public from any further illnesses and to identify the source of the contamination,” Jim Blamey, director of the county Department of Environmental Health, said in a statement.

A slew of Yelp reviews posted over the last few days included details of customers who ate at the restaurant and had a less-than-positive experience.

One user, Andres G., posted Monday that he had a shrimp cocktail Oct. 16 and got sick that night.

“Saturday I was admitted to the ER and then the ICU,” he wrote. “Please PLEASE do not eat here ... I do not wish for a single other person to go through the hell I’ve been through.”

Public health officials are asking anyone who ate at the restaurant Oct. 16 or 17 and had a sudden onset of diarrhea and fever within one to two days after eating there to seek medical attention.

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