Health Department Had Issues with Illinois McDonald's
The McDonald's hepatitis outbreak in western Illinois could have been a product of shortcomings at a local medical center and the restaurant itself in Milan, Illinois.
The Illinois McDonald's outbreak of hepatitis A has sickened at least 24 people, including 11 who were hospitalized. Upwards of 5,000 others have been vaccinated against the disease at a cost to Rock Island County of $159,000 and growing..jpg)
On Friday, as national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys continued to hear from those affected by the outbreak and investigate claims, a bevy of news-breaking announcements were made. If you or a loved one are victims of the Illinois McDonald's hepatitis outbreak, contact a hepatitis A lawyer at Pritzer Olsen. The toll-free number is 1-888-377-8900, or write to us online using a free case consultation form. Our law firm has recovered tens of millions for victims of food poisoning and we represent victims in practically every major outbreak of foodborne illness.
Here's a brief breakdown of the latest developments that help to explain how two McDonald's employees continued to work in food-handling jobs despite being infected with hepatitis A -- a disease commonly transmitted by diseased restaurant employees who don't wash their hands properly after going to the toilet. The reporting comes from the Quad-City Times and QCOnline.com.
- Rock Island County Environmental Health Director Paul Guse released health department inspection records that showed non-cooperation by the Milan McDonald's after various 2008 inspections found food safety problems.
- The Milan McDonald's received a letter in February from Rock Island County public health officials warning that an outbreak of foodborne illness could occur if compliance wasn't forthcoming. The letter said the restaurant was identified as being below desired compliance levels and posing an increased risk for foodborne illness.
- McDonald's owner Terry Murphy was warned in early 2009 that inspections may be increased to as often as four times a year based on the inspection results of 2008. Guse said the restaurant had shown progress since March.
- Murphy issued a statement saying he took immediate action when notified July 13 about outbreak concerns by the county health department . Murphy said the health department did not release the names of the two infected employees to him until the evening of July 15 -- when he closed the restaurant for three days of deep cleaning and employee screening for hepatitis A.
- Trinity Regional Health System -- the place where a Milan McDonald's employee was diagnosed with hepatitis A in mid-June -- said a human error resulted in a long delay in reporting the illness to public health officials in Rock Island County, as required.
- Kathy Cunningham, Trinity's vice president of operations, said an audit found three previous instances of the same problem -- under-reporting of infectious diseases to the county health department. Cunningham said the hepatitis outbreak has led to a comprehensive review of all practices regarding public reporting of certain diseases to health officials.
