St. Louis Children's Hospital probing salmonella outbreak

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Children's Hospital has closed its cafeteria and is screening its 2,500 employees in response to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least six workers and five patients.

Those 11 have tested positive for salmonella bacteria, and more than 100 other workers and four patients with symptoms consistent with such poisoning are being tested, Dr. Alexis Elward, pediatric infectious diseases specialist at the hospital, said Sunday night.

Any of the 2,500 hospital workers showing symptoms also will be tested.

Salmonella can be found on several kinds of food, but especially on raw meat, eggs, dairy products and seafood. It is blamed for 1,000 deaths every year and 40,000 cases of salmonellosis. The illness causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. Children, the elderly and people with weak immune systems are vulnerable.

Salmonella also is found on the skin of reptiles such as turtles, snakes, lizards and iguanas. Chickens and puppies also can carry salmonella bacteria, Elward said.

"We have no idea where this started," Elward said. "We're asking broad questions about potential exposure -- if people have reptiles at home, what restaurants they've eaten in, what they did in the six days before the infection. We're casting a big net."

So far, the only element common among all 11 people confirmed with the salmonella bacteria is Children's Hospital. Those affected are recovering, Elward said.

Elward said three of the five confirmed cases of child patients infected with salmonella bacteria showed symptoms of the infection when they were admitted to the hospital. The hospital is testing the other two patients to pinpoint when they became infected, Elward said.

The six confirmed cases involving hospital employees include some who worked in the hospital cafeteria. Citing privacy laws, Elward said she could not say where all of the employees worked.

The hospital voluntarily closed the cafeteria Friday night after the initial cases were diagnosed, then invited the St. Louis Health Department to inspect it. No violations in the food-handling procedures or equipment, or the cleaning equipment, were found, Elward said.

Afterward, all surfaces and equipment used to prepare food were cleaned and disinfected twice.

Elward said hospital employees who are symptomatic will not be allowed to work until they are symptom-free and their cultures produce negative results for salmonella bacteria.

By Health Department regulations, food handlers who test positive for salmonella must produce two consecutive negative cultures before they return to work. It can take two to four days before the results of a culture are known.

The cafeteria will remain closed until all food handlers have been screened, Elward said. Until then, patients' food is being brought in from outside the hospital.