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Milan McDonald's Outbreak "Utterly Preventable''

By PritzkerLaw

An employee at the Milan, Illinois, McDonald's restaurant has gone public with her story that she told a manager at the restaurant in late June that she had been diagnosed with hepatitis A. But the restaurant remained open until last week, when it was ordered closed by the Rock Island County Health Department in connection with a possible McDonald's hepatitis A outbreak. In other words, the outbreak that sickened at least 20 people in western Illinois and sent thousands of others in for hepatitis vaccinations was utterly preventable. That's what national food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker, founder and president of PritzkerOlsen, P.A., writes in his opinion piece printed below. If you or a loved one has become sickened in this outbreak, contact Fred at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete one of our online forms to receive a free case consultation. 

By FRED PRITZKER

I represent survivors of foodborne illness, including clients sickened with hepatitis A at restaurants.

Hep A is an acute liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV) that lasts from a few weeks to several months. Although it does not lead to chronic infection, it causes significant and debilitating symptoms and requires precautionary measures to prevent its spread to family members.

In a restaurant setting, hepatitis A is transmitted by consuming food or drinks contaminated with fecal matter.  This usually occurs when a restaurant worker sickened with hepatitis A goes back to work while still contagious and fails to properly wash his or her hands while preparing food served to paying customers like you.

In most cases, this is utterly preventable disease. Workers exhibiting symptoms of hep A should not work until cleared by a physician. Restaurant managers should not allow symptomatic employees on the premises.

Thus, it's particularly distressing to see reports of a hepatitis A outbreak involving a Milan, Illinois, McDonald's in which an estimated 10,000 patrons have been potentially exposed to the hepatitis A virus. Worse, according to WQAD television, an employee of the Milan McDonald's was diagnosed with hepatitis A in mid-June and told her manager at McDonald's on June 25 that she had hepatitis.

The Illinois McDonald's has claimed publicly that it didn't learn of the diagnosis until July 13, following which the restaurant was finally closed for cleaning and its employees screened for hepatitis.

I've recently written about proposed new food safety rules designed to reduce the incidence and severity of foodborne illness outbreaks -- including this one it would seem. Outbreaks generally are not due to bad policies and procedures, but rather gross failure to properly enforce them.

McDonald's is one of the best run food companies in the world. Its employee handbooks specifically instruct employees what to do:

• Call in if you are ill. Don't come to work when you are suffering from diarrhea or vomiting. You are at a higher risk for transferring bacteria to food or others.
• If you start to feel ill, tell your manager. Good heallth is important throughout your shift. You are at a higher risk for transferring bacteria to food or others.

But all the best policies and procedures won't make a restaurant safe if management personnel ignore the rules or fail to enforce them. Sadly, the only real incentive is public approbation and financial loss. Apparently, the health of its customers is not incentive enough. 

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on July 22, 2009 (boomark / email).