Salmonella outbreak at a Vietnamese restaurant in Hradec Králové: Cases continue to rise

Profimedia.cz

The infection caused by consuming food at the Vietnamese restaurant Chich Food’s in Hradec Králové is not subsiding but instead gaining intensity. In the hundred-thousand-inhabitant regional city, 64 people have fallen ill with salmonella. As of Thursday, health officials had recorded 116 diners who experienced digestive problems, including diarrhea, vomiting, and fever, after consuming Vietnamese cuisine specialties.

As of Wednesday, there were 89 infected people, of which 38 had confirmed cases of salmonella

Laboratories are still analyzing samples taken from infected individuals who visited the Chich food’s establishment on the corner of Královéhradecké Velké náměstí last week. “We should know more results next week,” said Veronika Krejčí, spokesperson for the Regional Hygiene Station in Hradec Králové.

Food poisoning ended with treatment or hospitalization for those affected in the University Hospital in Hradec Králové. The number of infected people may not be final, as some did not go to the hospital but were treated by general practitioners.

The Vietnamese restaurant was closed by health inspectors on Monday, who carried out an inspection and sanitation inside. They took 25 samples, eight of which were food ingredients and 17 of which were swabs from surfaces, utensils, and the hands of employees.

“Reopening the restaurant would only be possible after verifying the effectiveness of the measures taken and the decision of the Regional Hygiene Station,” Krejčí said. However, according to her statement on the Chich food’s network’s Facebook profile, the restaurant owner in Hradec Králové does not intend to reopen it after the food scandal.

On Sunday, April 2, after 1:00 pm, the Regional Hygiene Station was informed by the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the University Hospital Hradec Králové (FN HK) of health problems in several people who had eaten at the restaurant above.

Since then, dozens of people have been treated at the University Hospital in connection with this case. Most of them were released for home care after treatment.

In any case, Hradec Králové has seen the highest number of people with health problems from food since at least 2018, when 81 people fell ill with enterotoxin type A-producing staphylococcus aureus after eating a kebab at a restaurant. The health authorities fined the bistro operator 250,000 Czech crowns.