The Watauga County office of Appalachian District Health Department is working with the N.C. Division of Public Health to investigate a gastrointestinal illness outbreak among patrons of a local restaurant. There are five confirmed cases of salmonellosis and none have been hospitalized.

As of Friday, the Health Department had identified 9 individuals with signs and symptoms consistent with salmonellosis: diarrhea, stomach pain, fever, nausea, and sometimes vomiting. All share something in common — they ate at the same food establishment, Proper Restaurant, one to three days before becoming ill.

The Health Department is asking anyone who ate food or drank beverages from Proper Restaurant (142 S Water Street, Boone, NC) on or after Saturday, May 17, and started having diarrhea within three days of eating or drinking to call the department at 828-264-6635. If individuals call after hours or on the weekend, they should stay on the line to be connected to our on-call staff.

Ill people need to make sure they are staying hydrated and should seek medical care from their private doctor, urgent care or emergency room if their diarrhea and/or vomiting symptoms don’t improve.