Batavia restaurant closed due to salmonella

Aliano's Ristorante in Batavia has been closed since Friday as the Kane County Health Department investigates six cases of salmonella poisoning likely connected to the restaurant.

The Italian restaurant located at 90 N. Island Ave. voluntarily shut down after the cases of salmonella were confirmed, said health department spokesman Tom Schlueter.

“One Friday we saw some evidence that there were about six cases of salmonella that appeared to be commonly linked to the restaurant,” Schlueter said.

One of the six with salmonella poisoning was hospitalized but has since been released, Schlueter said.

The county health department is not 100 percent sure the cases are tied to the restaurant but is testing the employees and interviewing the victims.

Employees must go through two negative tests to be eligible to return to work, and as officials await those tests, the restaurant remains closed.

Schlueter said all six cases were reported to the health department by doctors who suspected or confirmed cases of the illnesses. He said doctors and hospitals are required to report cases of salmonella poisoning to the health department.

“It is quite possible that we will never known where it came from,” he said.