Norovirus Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Norovirus Blog

Something you do not see often enough these days is good follow up stories from television news operations.  Cleveland's CBS affiliate, 19 ActionNews, is an exception, however, as a week later is it doing a good follow up on what happened with the norovirus outbreak at the Kent, Ohio Chipolte Mexican Grill.   WOIO reports:

State health officials at the Ohio Department of Health laboratory confirmed that the food borne illness associated with Chipotle in Kent, Ohio was Norovirus Genotype G2. 

It is evident that the food consumed from the Kent Chipotle between Tuesday April 14 and Friday April 18th was contaminated with norovirus. 

Stool samples collected from people who had eaten chipotle food between 4/14 and 4/18 tested positive for Norovirus Genotype G2. 

More  than 400 customers of the Chipotle Mexican Grill reported having symptoms of Norovirus.  Secondary transmission to people who have come into contact  with the Chipotle customers now concerns the health department, according to 19 ActionNews.

For the complete 19 ActionNews story go here.

 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

"Chipotle Mexican Grill is the Bono of the fast-food business."   So says the current issue of the magazine Fast Company.   Point of the story is how everybody loves it.

Well, not everybody likes Bono and Chipotle just made a few hundred people sick with norovirus.  Or at least that's what Ohio's Newsnet 5 is reporting.   The TV news service reports:

 City, county and state health officials said they suspect the Norwalk virus is to blame for making hundreds of people sick after they ate at a Chipotle restaurant in Kent.

According to Kent health officials, 432 people have reported norovirus symptoms as of Monday afternoon.

Officials said no cases have occurred since the restaurant reopened on Saturday. It had closed on Friday after people were reporting symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea after eating there.

The restaurant on Route 59 was cleaned and sanitized and new employees were brought in from other restaurants to work there.

The Newsnet 5 report can be found here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Noroviruses are estimated to cause 23 million cases of acute gastroenteritis (commonly called the "stomach flu") in the U.S. each year, and are the leading cause of gastroenteritis. Of viruses, only the common cold is reported more often than viral gastroenteritis (norovirus).

Noroviruses may cause more outbreaks of foodborne illness than all bacteria and parasites. They can cause extended outbreaks because of their high infectivity, persistence in the environment, resistance to common disinfectants, and difficulty in controlling their transmission through routine sanitary measures.

The norovirus is transmitted primarily through the fecal-oral route and fewer than 100 norovirus particles are said to be needed to cause infection. Transmission occurs either person-to-person or through contamination of food or water. Transmission can occur by touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus and then placing that hand in your mouth; having direct contact with another person who is infected and showing symptoms; sharing foods or eating utensils with someone who is ill; exposure to aerosolized vomit; and consuming food contaminated by an infected food handler.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

9News, Denver's NBC affiliate, is reporting tonight on a norovirus outbreak.   Sick are 63 students at the University of Denver.  9News reports that:

Denver Health Department officials say the students were afflicted with the Norovirus, a group of viruses that cause the stomach flu and can be spread by direct contact with contaminated surfaces, people, food or other objects. They say coughing and sneezing do not spread the virus.

According to health experts, the Norovirus is not life-threatening and should pass within 12 to 36 hours, on average.

Health officials say it is safe for students, faculty and staff to live, work and eat at DU and in all of the DU residence hall dining areas.

See the 9News story here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Outbreaks of norovirus continue around the country.   This latest report comes from Lake County, Montana.   Montana's News Stations are reporting: 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

A University of Connecticut sorority picked the wrong place to hold its banquet.  About 30 sorority women were treated by UConn's infirmary after dining at the nearby Adams Mill Restaurant.  Norovirus is suspected.

Grace E. Merritt, writing in the Hartford Courant, reports:

UConn sent out a campuswide e-mail Thursday detailing the outbreak and urging precautions to prevent the virus from spreading on campus.

Norovirus can be food-borne, can spread from person to person or can be contracted from the contaminated surfaces of doorknobs and handles, said Manchester Health Department Director Maryann Cherniak Lexius.

At the health department's suggestion, The Adams Mill, a restaurant and banquet center on Adams Street, voluntarily closed for the day Wednesday for a top-to-bottom cleaning, she said.

About 150 people attended the dinner  hosted by the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. For Merritt's entire story, go here.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link