In June 2015, the Davidson County Health Department and Davie County Health Department staff worked with the North Carolina Division of Public Health to investigate an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium among customers of the Tarheel Q—a barbeque restaurant located in Lexington, North Carolina.
As many as 280 people became ill after eating at the Tarheel Q. Seventy nine percent had illness onset dates between June 16, 2015 and Sunday, June 21, 2015. One person died. Illness was reported by persons residing in 6 states and 21 North Carolina counties. The majority of ill persons were residents of Davidson County or Davie County in North Carolina. Twenty percent had seen a health care provider. Thirteen percent had visited the emergency department and 9% had been hospitalized.
Laboratory testing of a BBQ sample and a sample from a patient who became ill during the outbreak were a genetic match by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE). Isolates from three patients were analyzed PFGE and found to be different genetic strains of Salmonella Typhimurium. Outbreaks of multiple genetic strains have been reported previously.
Marler Clark represented 4 individuals affected in the outbreak, achieving settlements covering medical expenses, wage loss, pain and suffering, and loss of spousal consortium.