In March 2018, Kansas Department of Health and Environment staff investigated an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections among patrons of El Pueblito Mexican Restaurant in Coffeyville, Kansas.

A case‐control study was conducted to determine exposures with statistical association with illness. Acase was defined as laboratory‐confirmed Salmonella Enteritidis with PFGE pattern
JEGX01.0021 or JEGX01.0023 in a person who reported eating food from El Pueblito within 14
days of illness onset. Controls were well meal‐companions of ill persons. Cases and controls
were interviewed by KDHE using an outbreak‐specific questionnaire that focused on ingredients
used for each food item served at the restaurant.

Nine cases were positive for Salmonella Enteritidis; eight isolates matched PFGE pattern
JEGX01.0021, and one isolate’s PFGE pattern was JEGX01.0023. The difference between the
two patterns was one band. Three people were hospitalized. No one died.

An onsite inspection was conducted at El Pueblito on April 6. Two priority violations were identified. Both were related to handwashing. An employee did not wash hands between handling soiled and clean utensils, and an employee did not wash hands between handling raw chicken and plating a burrito. A potential for cross‐contamination was also observed at the prep table used to store lettuce, tomatoes, shrimp, and shredded cheese—an employee touched the prep table handle after handling raw meat. No employees reported gastrointestinal illness from March 1 to April 6. The 16 swabs that were collected from kitchen surfaces on April 17 tested negative for
Salmonella on April 20.