3 Olive Garden workers test positive for virus: About 370 people sickened after eating at Indianapolis restaurant

Posted on December 19, 2006 by Norovirus Lawyer

MSNBC with contributions from the Associated Press


INDIANAPOLIS - A norovirus may have caused hundreds of people to  
become sick last week after eating at an Olive Garden restaurant, a  
health official said Monday.


Stool samples from three restaurant employees and one patron tested  
positive for a norovirus, which can cause symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, said John Althardt, a spokesman for the Marion County Health Department.


About 370 people complained of being ill after eating at the restaurant, health officials said.


The restaurant, which remained closed for a fourth day on Monday, was  
cleared to reopen after being cleaned over the weekend, Althardt said.
Althardt said the Health Department was investigating how the pathogen  
might have been spread throughout the restaurant. Officials have also  
been talking to the restaurant’s management about its policies  
regarding employee hand-washing and making sure sick employees are  
excluded from working, he said.


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Norovirus cited in Olive Garden outbreak

Posted on December 18, 2006 by Norovirus Attorney

Jennifer Pifer of CNN has reported that four people have tested positive for norovirus after eating at an Olive Garden restaurant in Indiana.  As of December 18, three people are still hospitalized.  Full story

Marion County Health Department spokesman John Althardt told CNN in a telephone interview that tests on three employees and one customer were positive for norovirus, which typically occurs in places such as cruise ships and restaurants where people are eating food prepared by others.

Seventy-three cases were reported over the weekend, bringing the total to approximately 373, Althardt said.

The Olive Garden, which closed on Friday and scrubbed, has been given clearance to reopen.

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300 now report illness after eating at Indianapolis Olive Garden

Posted on December 15, 2006 by Norovirus Lawyer
Commentary from the Associated Press

Three people have been hospitalized and more than 300 people claim they became ill after eating at an Olive Garden restaurant last weekend, a health official said Friday.

Also, six restaurant workers reported on Monday that they were feeling ill, said Marion County Health Department spokesman John Althardt. Olive Garden is based in Orlando.

"We're trying to isolate what the cause of the illness might be," he said.

The problem has been isolated to the Olive Garden on East 82nd Street on Indianapolis' north side, Althardt said.

Health officials have found no link to E. coli bacteria that sickened patrons at East Coast Taco Bell restaurants recently, Althardt said.


Olive Garden patrons reported becoming ill after eating at the restaurant on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, he said. They said they had symptoms including nausea, vomiting, fever and diarrhea.

Inspectors met with restaurant managers on Tuesday and found no health code violations. Health officials were collecting leftover food and stool samples from those stricken to try to pinpoint the source of the illness, Althardt said.

A news release from the restaurant said the company is working with health officials to find the cause.

"We're pleased the health department has determined our guests should feel comfortable continuing to dine at Olive Garden," the statement said.

Frank Williams said he became sick Tuesday morning after eating at the Olive Garden over the weekend.

"It was my wife's birthday party dinner and the only thing that everyone had was a little cake," he told Indianapolis television station WRTV. "And that seemed to be a fairly unlikely candidate to cause everyone to get sick."

Seven of the eight people in his party fell ill, he said.

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