BULLITT COUNTY, Ky. (WHAS11) – Dozens of employees at the Zappos Distribution Warehouse in Bullitt County are recovering from an illness and the cause still remains a mystery.
However, one employee that has been treated and released from the hospital says her doctor knows what caused it.
Shelby Wright says the nausea hit her like a ton of bricks. She rushed to the Zappos bathroom where she says more than 20 people filled the room, all of them ill.
"They had chairs and water bottles and wet towels set up outside of the bathroom area. People were literally in the trash can," says Wright.
Nearly 60 people became ill around 1 a.m. on Monday at the Zappos Fulfillment Center and half had to be taken to the hospital. Wright was one of them and the doctor that treated her says the cause was fairly clear.
"He says it wasn't 100%, he still had to review blood work. But he could almost guarantee me that it was food poisoning," says Wright.
Many of the employees had the same catered food from Masterson's around 10 p.m. Sunday, which was a meal of pasta and salad. Wright says she spoke with doctors, Zappos managers and the Health Department today who told her usually it takes 24 hours for food poisoning to hit. The Bullitt County Health Department is still investigating the specific cause.
"We can't really tell if it's a food borne illness. We're investigating what they ate and if there were any workers sick prior to or staff who served food that were sick." says Dr. Swannie Jett with Bullitt County Health Department.
Wright she says the food she had on Saturday was also catered by Masterson's and she had a salad, chili and baked potato. When she heads back to work tomorrow, she plans on opting for safer fare.
"I'm gonna live off Cheetos and Pop Tarts out of the vending machine."
The Bullitt County Health Department tells WHAS11 that there was also a recent employee potluck. They are investigating the cause through toxicology reports from workers.
Wright says that Zappos was very helpful in making sure everyone was cared for and taken to the hospital.
