SHELBY, N.C.,None — A 14-year-old girl went to a hospital emergency room after she was bitten by a mouse Friday at Logan's Roadhouse.
She and eight other people were eating at the restaurant when a mouse reportedly ran along the side of her foot, said Doc Thompson, the Gaston County environmental health supervisor. The girl said she felt a pinch and was concerned the rodent may have bitten her, Thompson said.
Thompson said the restaurant staff caught and killed mouse, then gave it to the diners for testing.
The group then stayed and finished their dinner, which was paid for by the restaurant.
The chain's spokesperson released a statement reading, "We sincerely regret this incident. The Health Department has conducted a follow up investigation and determined this to be an isolated incident. We are proud of our most recent health department scores with an "A" average. Our guests are always our number one priority at Logan's, and we're committed to providing them with a pleasant and safe dining experience and great food.
"Logan's handled it the best they could," Thompson said.
David Littman, a plant review specialist with the Gaston County Health Department, visited the restaurant on Monday. He was informed that Logan's had already brought in Ecolab, a pest control service. They had also identified and filled in a hole in the ceiling where the mouse may have entered the restaurant.
According to the complaint record, "the manager of Logan's was told that they may need to have more frequent inspections by Ecolab to make sure this was not an ongoing problem." Littman also told the manager to report any future incidents to the health department.
The family of the bitten girl has yet to file a complaint with the health department.
Thompson said customers typically file a report with the department under such circumstances.
"Most times, when people have a complaint with a restaurant, we're going to get called," he said.
Thompson said the chances of the bitten girl contracting rabies from the mouse were slim. Most mice aren't carriers of the disease.
Mandy Jordan, the live animal manager at the Schiele Museum, said it's "fairly rare to find rabies in a mouse." She said the most common risk associated with any animal bite in infection.
The health department last inspected Logan's Roadhouse on April 26. It's a level IV restaurant, meaning it gets inspected four times a year. On its last inspection, it received 95 out of a possible 102 points. One half of a point was lost in the "food and non-food contact surfaces easily cleanable and in good repair" and "non-food contact surfaces clean" categories.
The restaurant did not lose any points for having insects, rodents or other animals present.
Thompson said that if an inspector had seen a problem, it would have been marked on the report.
"We didn't see any problems," he said. "And I guarantee we looked at it."
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