SAN JOSE -- An outbreak of Shigella bacteria has now sickened at least 182 people in six counties, some from as far away as the Central Valley, health officials reported Monday morning.

The escalating numbers underscore how easily Shigella can spread, said Allison Thrash, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, which shut down the source of the outbreak, downtown restaurant Mariscos San Juan, on Oct. 18.

"Shigella is extremely contagious," said Thrash. "Careful, frequent hand-washing is extremely important in preventing the continued spread of the outbreak."

Health investigators believe Mariscos San Juan, on Fourth Street, served contaminated food on two consecutive days, Oct. 16 and 17. Officials suspect the disease was spread by a contaminated food handler, but the food source remains under investigation. Test results from Mariscos employees are expected this week.

Shigella bacteria may cause severe diarrhea and fever. They can spread quickly in restaurant settings, most often when an infected person doesn't wash his hands after using the bathroom and then handles food. As of Friday, 144 cases were from Santa Clara County and 38 from Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Marin and Merced counties, according to Thrash. Of the 182 total cases, 72 have been confirmed through laboratory tests. Of these, 55 confirmed cases are in Santa Clara County.

Nearly all the victims are people who ate at the restaurant, health officials said, while only a handful of new cases represent secondary infections of people who came into contact with the first wave of victims.

Although the restaurant specialized in Mexican seafood and catered to Spanish speakers, it also attracted a culturally diverse crowd drawn from San Jose's rapidly changing downtown and central city neighborhoods. One of the first to sue Mariscos was Greg Meissner, a non-Hispanic dean of students at Independence High School who lives a few blocks from the restaurant.

Meissner said he had severe stomach problems and a 105-degree fever after eating a ceviche tostada.

"This can't happen again to anyone," Meissner told this newspaper last week.

The downtown restaurant remains closed, and the owners, who operate two other Mariscos San Juan outlets in San Jose, have not been available for comment since the outbreak was reported. County officials said last week that the restaurant had complied with hand-washing rules for food handlers.

At least three lawsuits have been filed so far against the owners on behalf of people who allege they became ill from food served at the restaurant.

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