Norovirus (bacteria) has sickened 80 Boston College students who ate at a nearby Chipotle restaurant, state health officials said Tuesday.
“Initial testing conducted by the State Public Health has shown the presence of norovirus,” the health department said in a statement.
Although many of the students said they feared they’d been struck with the same E. coli bacteria that made 52 people in nine states sick this fall after eating at Chipotle restaurants, experts said the pattern of illness didn’t look like E. coli.
“Health officials in Boston believe this is likely a norovirus, which seems consistent with the pattern, in our estimation,” Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told NBC News.
City health officials ordered the outlet closed after an inspection showed the cooked chicken used to make burritos, tacos and other dishes was being kept at too low a temperature, an employee worked while showing signs of illness and because of the reports of possible foodborne illness.
Chipotle said it had voluntarily closed the restaurant in the Brighton section of the city.
“All 80 students have confirmed that they ate at the Chipotle Restaurant in Cleveland Circle during the weekend,” Boston College said in a statement.
Norovirus is notorious for causing large outbreaks of sickness and it can be spread by a single sick restaurant worker or one sick patron. Simple handwashing is often not enough to prevent its spread.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it’s still not sure what particular food caused the E. coli outbreak at Chipotle. A separate E. coli outbreak that’s made 19 people sick in seven states was linked to celery sold at Costco, 7-11, King Sooper and other stores.
Symptoms of both illnesses are similar — diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever. But norovirus is far more likely than E. coli to cause vomiting.
The most common symptoms are:
- diarrhea
- throwing up
- nausea
- stomach pain
Other symptoms include:
- fever
- headache
- body aches
Practice proper hand hygiene
Wash your hands carefully with soap and water—
- especially after using the toilet and changing diapers, and
- always before eating, preparing, or handling food.
Noroviruses can be found in your vomit or stool even before you start feeling sick. The virus can stay in your stool for 2 weeks or more after you feel better. So, it is important to continue washing your hands often during this time.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be used in addition to hand washing. But, they should not be used as a substitute for washing with soap and water. See “Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives.”
Wash fruits and vegetables and cook seafood thoroughly
Carefully wash fruits and vegetables before preparing and eating them. Cook oysters and other shellfish thoroughly before eating them.
Be aware that noroviruses are relatively resistant. They can survive temperatures as high as 140°F and quick steaming processes that are often used for cooking shellfish.
Food that might be contaminated with norovirus should be thrown out.
Keep sick infants and children out of areas where food is being handled and prepared.
When you are sick, do not prepare food or care for others who are sick
You should not prepare food for others or provide healthcare while you are sick and for at least 2 days after symptoms stop. This also applies to sick workers in settings such as schools and daycares where they may expose people to norovirus.
Many local and state health departments require that food workers and preparers with norovirus illness not work until at least 48 hours after symptoms stop. If you were recently sick, you can be given different duties in the restaurant, such as working at a cash register or hosting.
Clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces
After throwing up or having diarrhea, immediately clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces. Use a chlorine bleach solution with a concentration of 1000–5000 ppm (5–25 tablespoons of household bleach [5.25%] per gallon of water) or other disinfectant registered as effective against norovirus by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For more information, see EPA’s Registered Antimicrobial Products Effective Against Norovirus (Norwalk-like virus)[3 pages].
Note: Evidence for efficacy of a cleaning agent against norovirus is usually based on studies using feline calicivirus (FCV)—a virus related to norovirus—as a surrogate. However, FCV and norovirus exhibit different physiochemical properties; thus, it is unclear whether inactivation of FCV by a specific cleaning agent reflects efficacy of such solutions against norovirus.
Wash laundry thoroughly
Immediately remove and wash clothes or linens that may be contaminated with vomit or stool (feces).
You should
- handle soiled items carefully without agitating them,
- wear rubber or disposable gloves while handling soiled items and wash your hands after, and
- wash the items with detergent at the maximum available cycle length then machine dry them.
Resources
- CDC Vital Signs — Preventing Norovirus Outbreaks, Food Service has a Key Role
- Help Prevent the Spread of Norovirus (“Stomach Bug”), poster in English and Spanish from Somerset (NJ) County, Department of Health, NEHA, Water Quality & Health Council, and American Chemistry Council
- Clean-up and Disinfection for Norovirus (“Stomach Bug”), poster in English and Spanish from Somerset (NJ) County, Department of Health, NEHA, Water Quality & Health Council, and American Chemistry Council
- Updated Norovirus Outbreak Management and Disease Prevention Guidelines (2011)
- Guideline for the Prevention and Control of Norovirus Gastroenteritis Outbreaks in Healthcare Settings, 2011
- Norovirus Illness: Key Facts[2 pages]
- Norovirus: Facts for Food Workers[2 pages]
- Norovirus in Healthcare Facilities Fact Sheet[2 pages]
- Norovirus in Healthcare Settings
- A Norovirus Outbreak Control Resource Toolkit for Healthcare Settings
- EPA’s Registered Antimicrobial Products Effective Against Norovirus (Norwalk-like virus)[3 pages]
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