Nine years ago, that Upstate city was swept by a salmonella outbreak from contaminated eggs that sickened more than 200 people. Until this week, it was the worst outbreak of salmonella in South Carolina history.
That record has been broken now that 272 people have reported being sickened by salmonella after eating at the Old South buffet restaurant in Camden last week. Salmonella has been blamed in the death of James Arledge, 58, of Lugoff.
The 1996 outbreak in Greenville stemmed from contaminated eggs used in spreads made by the Duke Sandwich Co., according to Thom Berry, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.
The sandwich company, based in Greenville, was not blamed for the contamination.