Posted: June 19th, 2012 - 12:45pm
Source: La Verdad

About 30 patients who were being cared [for] because of moderate gastroenteritis in La Union and Cartagena urgent healthcare centers had a common feature. In addition to their main complaint, all of them attended the well-known Minero bar in La Union.
Cultures yielded _Salmonella_, a microorganism which may contaminate food and leads to gastrointestinal symptoms in persons eating such food, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness.
With respect to affected persons, 4 persons who were hospitalized because of the severity of their symptoms have already been discharged from Santa Lucia health center. There were waiters and cooks from the Minero bar among them.
According to the same sources, there has not been a decree to close the bar, only a single order to close the kitchen. Last Friday morning, the owner of the bar was informed that he should close the kitchen until it is disinfected and it is determined what foods were contaminated. Nonetheless, the place was closed a few hours later, and the owner put a sign on the door announcing it would re-open next Tuesday.