In Colorado, three cases of life-threatening typhoid fever have been confirmed. CBS Denver has reported that all three of the sickened ones had eaten at a Qdoba Mexican Grill in Firestone in August.

State epidemiologist Dr. Lisa Miller with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said that although the outbreak happened in August, the three illnesses have been reported only in recent weeks because the incubation of the rare infection and diagnosis take time.

The symptoms suffered by the infected customers included headaches, fever and other symptoms. Miller said that two of the three people were in fact hospitalized, which means they were very sick. CBS Denver reported that the three patients have now recovered.

As per Miller, tests of employees disclosed that the illness came from an infected food handler at the Qdoba, who spread the salmonella typhi bacteria. No symptoms of illness were reportedly shown by the employee.

Miller said, “How did it get into the food? Someone sheds it in their feces and contaminated food or directly contaminated something that somebody else ingests”.

Weld County Health Department spokesperson Eric Aakko said that the good news was that the worker was no longer handling food at the restaurant.

Aakko said that still a follow-up investigation with ex-employees of the restaurant is going on to find out anyone else who could have fallen sick.

Aakko added that the restaurant has been quite cooperative with the investigation, thus presently the department and the state health department was feeling comfortable that there's no need to shut down the restaurant.

According to Miller, there is no proof of any ongoing health risk.