Multiple children were hospitalized over Shabbos in Flatbush, all suffering from Salmonella.
Sources tell YWN that the children all attend the same local Sephardic Yeshiva.
Two children were hospitalized on Friday and one was in serious condition. The hospital contacted the NYC Health Department, which determined that the cause may have been from food delivered to the school.
The school had ordered and served schwarma from a local food establishment last week on Wednesday, Rosh Chodesh.
The school had also ordered sandwiches, but none of the children who ate them were sickened.
After the school was notified of the confirmed salmonella, a Flatbush Hatzolah member went around to houses of children in the school and found at least 7 children showing symptoms.
All the children were transported by Hatzolah to hospitals – and all confirmed to have salmonella.
YWN spoke with the owner of the establishment in question, who tells us he is meticulous about food safety, and this is the first time he has ever received complaints of this kind.
He explained that he served over 100 customers from the same batch of schwarma on Wednesday – including another big order – and did not receive any complaints. Nor did he hear complaints from any of his customers served on Thursday.
The store owner said it was more likely the cause for the outbreak originated within the school. He says he did not supply serving utensils, plates or forks with the food and perhaps the school used an item that was infected. He wondered if perhaps one child or school employee touched the food with dirty hands and infected the whole tray. Another cause, he suggested, may have been the aluminium foil or tins in which the food was delivered.
An investigation was underway.
If anyone in Flatbush ate schwarma from a local store and has any of the symptoms listed below, please seek immediate medical attention.
Signs and symptoms of Salmonella infection:
Most people infected with Salmonella develop the following signs and symptoms 12 to 72 hours after being exposed to the bacteria:
Diarrhea
Fever
Abdominal cramps
How long does the illness last?
The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment.
In some people, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other places in the body.
In rare cases, Salmonella infection can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.
(Nat Golden – YWN)
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13 Responses
Does anyone know which Yeshiva and which restaurant? This info will help to locate the source of the outbreak.
I do tutoring in different schools. Almost every school is careful that the person serving the food should wear gloves. The problem is the server is often a custodian who cleans up the garbage and spills during the serving with the same gloves. The first group of children served has clean gloves touching the food by the time the last class comes for lunch the gloves are not that clean, to say the least.
Given that “In rare cases, Salmonella infection can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.” doesn’t YWN feel it has a duty to its readers to tell us the name of the restaurant that supplied the food? There may be people who ate there and don’t feel well but will only connect the dots if they know the name of the restaurant. The NY Department of Health will no doubt check out the establishment very carefully and if there is no trace of salmonella, they will say so. Far from losing out the restaurant can then proudly proclaim that it has an excellent clean bill of health.
Kudos to Yeshiva World News!
No names were mentioned in this article, not the school and not the restaurant.
Keep up the good work!!!
Longbeach – no need to. Either you did eat shawarma or didn’t last week? Either you are feeling well or you’re not feeling well (Chas V’shalom) Either you or your children go to that Yeshiva or don’t go to that Yeshiva? Either your children are feeling well or they are not feeling well (Chas V’shalom).
If you can answer any of those questions you would know the answers on your own. No need to speak Lashon Hora or Rechilus.
Longbeach- Also how is knowing the names of the Yeshiva or restaurant in anyway going to help figure out the source of the outbreak? It just will cause unfounded accusations for one of the two. Once they find the source then it MIGHT be l’toeles to publicize the name for those who might want to take care of their health issues before they show signs of the symptoms (if that’s medically necessary or even possible). I am not convinced that it would be L’toeles even then but some might…
Being in the food industry i will say I’m agreeing with the store owner. He delivered the food Wednesday and this was not discovered till many days later. probably a lot more likely it happened in the school then from the store.
To outoftownjew. For the local people here in Brooklyn, who would want to avoid eating in such a restaurant until this is resolved, its important. We are dealing with major illness of young boys. You may be from out of town as your user name states, so for you its just a name of a restaurant.
there is no need to publicize the restaurant- as it may not be his fault- if you live in Flatbush and have recently eaten schwarma and are suffering from symptoms – then go to your doctor- no need to announce loshon hora for your curiosity- if your sick go to the doctor with your suspicions- and get antibiotics.
Longbeach – If and when the Heath department finds that the restaurant food was the cause of the outbreak then it will for certain be publicized. Until then all it will do is cause people to stop eating there, making the owner lose money in the meantime. If the health department finds that the restaurant food was not the issue there will still be people “wondering “ and probably not eating there and spreading rumors. Unfortunately that’s the world we live in now – the talking before thinking world.
You know how many times health inspections find issues at restaurants and the public does not find out about those issues before or after they are dealt with? Numerous!! Undoubtedly you have been to many restaurants without knowing that have “possible “ issues that are being worked on while still serving food to you and others. No need to cause possible grief and loss of income to the owner because of a “possibility “.
Refuah shlaima!
Dear YWN
There has been two more confirmed cases of boys from a totally different yeshiva that ate at the same restaurant.
Take activated charcoal. It’ll pass much quicker