On Monday, health officials said roughly 200 people in the San Francisco area have got sickened due to an intestinal disease caused by the highly infectious Shigella bacteria. The outbreak started at a Mexican seafood restaurant 10 days ago.

In a statement, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department said that as of past Friday, the outbreak that started at the Mariscos San Juan No. 3 restaurant in San Jose on October 16 had stretched across 6 counties, infecting 182 people.

Health officials said that a number of the sickened were rushed to hospitals and admission of at least a dozen was done in intensive care units.

According to health officials, transmission generally takes place when fecal matter gets into the mouth, probably when an infected food handler cooks meals eaten by unwitting diners. The department has mentioned that investigation is going on all likely sources of the contamination.

The department added that Shigella infections can cause watery or bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever and other symptoms. It said that the bacteria is 'very contagious', and has advised sickened people to avoid going to work.

As per the Marler Clark law firm, as of Friday, two lawsuits have been filed over the outbreak. Health officials said that the restaurant has been closed since October 18. They said that the restaurant is showing full cooperation with the investigation of the department. On Monday, the owners of the restaurant could not immediately be reached for comment.