SAN DIEGO -- At least 40 people have gotten salmonella poisoning after eating at an Escondido restaurant, a spokesperson for the county's Health and Human Services Agency said Thursday.

SALMONELLA Q&A CDC Info FDA Food Safe Hotline: (888) 723-3366

The people got sick after eating at Elias' Restaurant, a family-style eatery at 1141 E. Washington Ave., between Oct. 14 and 31.

Forty cases have been confirmed and another 35 people are suspected of having salmonella, said the agency's Leslie Ridgeway.

The restaurant has been closed by the health agency until it can be cleaned and sanitized.

The source of the salmonella has not been determined, but HHSA is conducting extensive testing and interviewing people in an attempt to find it, Ridgeway said.

The restaurant is cooperating with the Department of Environmental Health and HHSA.

Salmonella is not usually fatal. Symptoms, which usually occur a day to a week after infection, include fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea that lasts four to seven days. Most people recover without antibiotics.

For more information on salmonella, visit the Centers for Disease Control Web site at www.cdc.gov and click on "Health Topics A-Z."