Famous fast food chain Chipotle is recently reported to have gotten 80 students ill after dining out in a nearby location in Boston. This time, the said cause of the students' ill stomachs is not E.coli which the fast food chain allegedly had an outbreak recently but rather due to norovirus, Boston health officials say.
80 students have fallen sick to their stomachs after eating at a nearby Chipotle location, Boston College administrators claim. Boston health officials investigated on the cause which turns out not to be e.coli but rather a strain of virus called norovirus.
The norovirus is a type of virus that causes inflammation of the stomach and intestines and can lead to gastroenteritis. Web MD notes that noroviruses are responsible for "more than half of all food-borne disease outbreaks each year." These pesky food-borne viruses are the most common cause of diarrhea in both adults and children and are contagious.
The norovirus has caused mass outbreaks with symptoms similar to E. coli. These are but not limed to vomiting, diarrhea, and a burning sensation in the stomach due to inflammation. The virus is also contagious and can spread through having direct contact with an infected person.
Chipotle had its Cleveland Circle location closed after the investigation. Boston health officials said an ill employee and low chicken storage temperatures are to be considered for further investigation as cause of the virus outbreak.
Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told Reuters that the norovirus claim is isolated to one restaurant. The company stated that the closure is voluntary.
It can be recalled that the fast food chain has been under public scrutiny since Oct. 31, following the E. coli outbreak that has made over 52 people in nine states all over the US sick.
