101 ill after eating at Northwest Arkansas brewery and beer garden

FILE PHOTO JJ's Beer Garden and Brewing Co. is seen Sept. 11, 2017, in Fayetteville.
FILE PHOTO JJ's Beer Garden and Brewing Co. is seen Sept. 11, 2017, in Fayetteville.

3:45 P.M. UPDATE:

The number of reported illnesses associated with a Northwest Arkansas restaurant has nearly doubled.

Meg Mirivel, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health, said Tuesday afternoon that the agency has received 101 reported complaints of illness from patrons of JJ's Beer Garden and Brewing Co. at 3615 Steele Blvd. in Fayetteville.

Health officials said Monday that 51 people had reported illnesses.

— Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

EARLIER:

FAYETTEVILLE — Health officials have said they are investigating a currently unidentified outbreak after 51 people reported falling ill after a visit to a Fayetteville restaurant.

Arkansas Department of Health spokeswoman Meg Mirivel said in a release Monday symptoms included diarrhea, vomiting and fever, but there have been no hospitalizations among those who ate at JJ's Beer Garden and Brewery.

Officials said the illness has generally begun 24 to 36 hours after visiting the restaurant. The department is collecting samples and awaiting laboratory results to determine the pathogen.

State epidemiologist Dirk Haselow noted that many people traveled to Fayetteville Sept. 15 for the North Texas-Razorbacks football game. The department is asking anyone who visited the restaurant since Sept. 13 and experienced symptoms to report the illness.

JJ's manager Jordan Jones says they are working with the health department to determine what's happening, but no employees have been sickened. An employee said Monday the restaurant was open during its usual hours.

— The Associated Press

Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette staff contributed to this story.

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