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Kelly's Roast Beef in Saugus closed after worker has typhoid fever

SAUGUS, Mass. — The popular Kelly's Roast Beef on Route 1 in Saugus is closed after a worker was diagnosed with Salmonella Typhi, which is also known as typhoid fever.

State health officials told Boston 25 News that they're not aware of any salmonella cases among customers.

The business voluntarily shut down on Tuesday after an employee who prepares food tested positive for typhoid fever, said Dan Doherty, vice president of Kelly's Roast Beef.

Each of the Saugus location's 110 employees must be tested before they can return to work, so it's more of a staffing issue than anything, Doherty said.

Doherty said the employee who tested positive for typhoid fever had traveled out of the country.

A source told Boston 25 News that the employee had traveled to Guatemala.The Saugus Board of Health has allowed Kelly's to be open, but the restaurant says it is waiting for all employees to get tested and those results to be returned.

Kelly's says only its Saugus location was affected. All of its other restaurants are open.

News of the closing of the Saugus site disappointed customers.

“It’s sad, I eat here a lot," said Kyle Brosseau of Saugus.

"We were planning on coming tonight because we usually come here Monday but we missed it this week," said Donna Doucette of Wakefield.

Symptoms of typhoid fever are high fevers, weakness, stomach pain, headaches and loss of appetite. It spreads through food and water.

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