Washington Restaurant Involved in Salmonella Cases Reopens

A Vancouver, Wash., restaurant linked to several dozen cases of salmonella has reopened.

Clark County public health officials gave On The Border the go-ahead to reopen Oct. 15 although they still don’t know the source of the outbreak.

The Columbian reports that health officials have confirmed 28 cases of salmonella linked to the restaurant and identified another 60 probable cases awaiting lab confirmation.

Most cases involve adult customers who visited the On the Border restaurant between Sept. 20 and Oct. 8. Five restaurant food handlers and at least one child also tested positive for salmonella.

County health officer Dr. Alan Melnick says officials, restaurant employees and the public may never know exactly what caused the outbreak. The restaurant was closed Oct. 9.

Symptoms include fever, chills, diarrhea and abdominal discomfort and typically arrive within three days of exposure.

Melnick says officials interviewed all 88 people who showed symptoms but they had many things in common. Symptoms include fever, chills, diarrhea and abdominal discomfort.

Restaurant operations director Jake Parmer says On The Border was thoroughly sanitized over several days in a cleaning process monitored by the health department.