An employee at the Nordstrom Café in San Francisco’s Stonestown Galleria has been diagnosed with typhoid fever and may have exposed customers to the disease, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
Anyone who ate at the café on April 16, 17, 18, 20, or 27, 2013 may be at risk of infection. The health department advises any individuals who ate at the café on those days and experience symptoms such as fever, nausea, stomach pains, diarrhea, vomiting or headache to seek medical attention. Those symptoms generally appear within 8 to 14 days after exposure.
Typhoid fever is caused by the bacteria Salmonella Typhi, and it can be spread through food prepared by an infected person. The disease affects approximately 300 to 400 people in the U.S. each year, often during international travel. Health investigators believe the café employee contracted the disease while traveling abroad.