Brixx & Barley Salmonella Outbreak

Posted in Our Blog,Outbreaks & Recalls,Salmonella on August 10, 2019

Salmonella Outbreak Closes Brixx & Barley

A dozen people have reported Salmonella food poisoning after eating or drinking at Brixx and Barley. The Nassau County Department of Health is investigating the cluster of cases of salmonellosis associated with the Brixx and Barley Salmonella Outbreak.

The restaurant “will not be allowed to reopen until the source of the salmonella is identified,” Health Department spokeswoman Mary Ellen Laurain said Friday night. “That could take some time.”

Brixx & Barley is located at 152 West Park Ave in Long Beach, NY.

Potential exposures to Salmonella at the restaurant could date back to early July.

Brixx & Barley Salmonella Outbreak

The health department says it’s not known if the source of the contamination is from the restaurant, but that salmonella is typically transmitted during warmer months and is usually foodborne. Nassau County Department of Health has closed Brixx and Barley while the investigation as to the source of Salmonella is investigated.

A note on the restaurant’s door says, “We are voluntarily closing the restaurant to ensure any potential problems are properly rectified while working closely with the health department.”

Established in 2014 Brixx & Barley is a bar and restaurant which features weekly specials and entertainment. They also offer full service catering. Their restaurant features everything from brick oven pizza to pasta dishes and wings.

Long Beach, New York is nicknamed the “City By the Sea” and made the news most recently in 2000 when Hurricane Sandy and cost the city $250 million in damage. The city is said to have been without power for over 2 weeks after the storm but rebounded in 2013 when they were finished with store related damage repairs.

We will continue to provide updates on the Brixx and Barley Salmonella outbreak.

What You Need To Know About Salmonella

CDC estimates Salmonella causes about 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths in the United States every year. Food is the source for about 1 million of these illnesses.

• Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment.
• However, in some persons, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized.

Diagnosing salmonellosis requires testing a clinical specimen (such as stool or blood) from an infected person to distinguish it from other illnesses that can cause diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. Once Salmonella is identified in the specimen, additional testing can be done to further characterize the Salmonella.

Steps in Laboratory Testing and Reporting Salmonella

• Laboratory scientists identify Salmonella infection by culturing a patient’s sample. If Salmonella bacteria grow, then the diagnosis is confirmed, or in laboratory-terms, “culture confirmed.”
• Clinical diagnostic laboratories report the test results to the treating clinician and submit Salmonella isolates to state and territorial public health laboratories for serotyping and DNA fingerprinting.
• The public health laboratories report the results to CDC’s Laboratory-based Enteric Disease Surveillance and to PulseNet
• The public health laboratories forward atypical serotypes to CDC’s National Salmonella Reference Laboratory for more characterization or confirmation.

How to Reduce Your Chances of Getting a Salmonella Infection

Don’t let Salmonella make you or your loved ones sick. Take a look at these five facts and CDC’s tips for lowering your chance of getting a Salmonella infection.

1. You can get Salmonella infection from a variety of foods. Salmonella can be found in many foods, including sprouts and other vegetables, eggs, chicken, pork, fruits, and even processed foods, such as nut butters, frozen pot pies, chicken nuggets, and stuffed chicken entrees. Contaminated foods usually look and smell normal, which is why it is important to know how to prevent infection.
2. Salmonella also can spread from animals to people and from people to people. Always wash your hands after contact with animals. Also wash your hands after using the toilet, changing diapers, or helping someone with diarrhea clean up after using the toilet. If you have a Salmonella infection, you should not prepare food or drinks for others until you no longer have diarrhea.
3. Salmonella illness is more common in the summer. Warmer weather and unrefrigerated foods create ideal conditions for Salmonella to grow. Be sure to refrigerate or freeze perishables (foods likely to spoil or go bad quickly), prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours (or 1 hour if the temperature outside is 90°F or hotter).
4. Salmonella illness can be serious and is more dangerous for certain people. Anyone can get a Salmonella infection, but some people are more likely to develop a serious illness, including children younger than 5, older adults, and people with immune systems weakened from a medical condition, such as diabetes, liver or kidney disease, and cancer or its treatment.
5. Salmonella causes far more illnesses than you might suspect. For every person with a Salmonella illness confirmed by a laboratory test, there are about 30 more people with Salmonella illnesses that are not reported. Most people who get food poisoning do not go to a doctor or submit a sample to a laboratory, so we never learn what germ made them sick.

Most people with a Salmonella infection experience:

• Diarrhea (that can be bloody)
• Fever
• Stomach cramps

Some people may also have nausea, vomiting, or a headache. Symptoms usually start within 6 hours–4 days after infection and last 4–7 days.

More Serious Symptoms Include:

• Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
• Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving
• Bloody stools
• Prolonged vomiting that prevents you from keeping liquids down
• Signs of dehydration, such as:
  • Making very little urine
  • Dry mouth and throat
  • Dizziness when standing up

Salmonella infection is diagnosed when a laboratory test detects Salmonella bacteria in a person’s poop (stool), body tissue, or fluids.

Most people recover without specific treatment. Antibiotics are typically used only to treat people with severe illness. Patients should drink extra fluids as long as diarrhea lasts. In some cases, diarrhea may be so severe that the person needs to be hospitalized.

In rare cases, the infection may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream, and then to other parts of the body. In these people, Salmonella can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.

How The Lange Law Firm Can Help

Our mission is to help families who have been harmed by contaminated food or water.  When corporations cause Salmonella food poisoning outbreaks or Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks, we use the law to hold them accountable.  The Lange Law Firm is the only law firm in the nation solely focused on representing families in food poisoning lawsuits and Legionnaires disease lawsuits.

If you got sick in the Brixx and Barley Salmonella outbreak and are interested in making a legal claim for compensation, we can help.  Our Salmonella lawyer can help you pursue compensation for your Salmonella infection.  Call us for a free no obligation legal consultation at (833) 330-3663 or send us an e-mail here.

By Samantha Cooper, Contributing Writer (Non-Lawyer)