The cook may have been an illegal why would he go back to Haiti especially after the earthquake.

Typhoid Fever Confirmed At Miami Restaurant
Cook At Chili's Restaurant Came From Haiti
Health Officials Testing Remaining Employees
Reporting Gary Nelson
MIAMI (CBS4) ―

Health officials are screening more than 70 employees of the Chili's restaurant at Bayside after a cook there was diagnosed with typhoid fever. Officials say the man became "disoriented" at work the last week in April after having felt ill for several days.

He visited an emergency room in Miami, then returned to Haiti. It was only after he left the country that lab tests confirmed he had typhoid fever.

Miami-Dade's health department learned of the typhoid case on May 14th and began testing all of the restaurant's employees.

"We haven't had any reported cases of infection from typhoid fever among any of the other workers, or any illnesses in general among any of the workers," said Dr. John Conte, Assistant Chief of Epidemiology and Disease Control. Conte said testing on all the employees should be complete by sometime next week.

Area doctors and medical facilities have been alerted to be on the lookout for patients exhibiting symptoms of typhoid which can include high fever, headache, weakness, constipation or diarrhea, weakness and sometimes rash.

Because many visitors to Bayside are tourists, the Centers for Disease Control has been notified to monitor cases in other parts of the country where patients who have visited Miami exhibit typhoid-like symptoms.

Typhoid was once a killer that filled hospital wards in the U.S. during the 19th century. With the advent of vaccines and antibiotics it has been rendered rare and very curable in the developed world.

"Unless you have an extremely depressed immune system or delay your treatment for quite some time, no one in the United States should be dying from typhoid fever," Dr. Conte said.

The disease is found in fecal matter, and is most often transmitted through food as a result of inadequate hand washing. It is also found in water supplies that are contaminated with sewage, making it far more prevalent in third-world countries.

At the Bayside Chili's Wednesday morning, a CBS4 News crew was asked not to enter the restaurant. An employee who did not give his name said, "Forty six out of seventy employees have been tested and all have come back okay." The employee said that even regional managers who visit the restaurant are being tested for typhoid.

Chili's released a statement Wednesday saying, "At Chili's Grill & Bar, the health and safety of our guests and employees is our top priority. We train all employees in proper food handling and maintain strict standards of quality, safety and cleanliness in our restaurant." Chili's said the Bayside restaurant has remained "open for business as usual" on the recommendation of the health department.

The health department's Conte said he "wouldn't have any problem" eating at the restaurant. "Some people might have reservations," Conte said. "But knowing that he (the infected cook) is gone and he's no longer involved in the preparation of the food, I wouldn't have any trouble having lunch at that Chili's today."

The bottom line at the Bayside restaurant may not be known for several more weeks, however. The incubation period for typhoid fever can be lengthy, taking as long as two months for someone exposed to the disease to become sick. The cook who was diagnosed with typhoid first felt ill on April 22nd.

How's he doing?

"We called him and spoke with him in Haiti yesterday," Conte said. "He is alive and well."

http://cbs4.com/health/typhoid.fever.di ... 17020.html