As of Tuesday, the Boston Public Health Department (BPHD) confirmed that 80 students from Boston College had fallen ill with norovirus after dining at a Chipotle restaurant near campus. Moreover, those who have contracted norovirus are students and residents from Boston College along with non-Boston College patrons. A spokeswoman from the Boston Public Health Department has also revealed that it is unlikely that the latest incident was caused by the infamous E. coli bacteria.
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Chipotle is calling this an isolated incident not related to the E-coli outbreak.
Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told the Associated Press that “all of the evidence” points toward norovirus, but could not say for sure that was the case.
The illnesses come as Chipotle’s sales are already being slammed by a multistate outbreak of E. coli linked to its restaurants. According to the CDC, there are approximately 20 million cases a year, making them the leading cause of gastroenteritis in the U.S, in part because they are so easily transmitted from person to person through contact, on surface areas, or through food or drink.
The source of the tainted food that caused the E. coli outbreaks at Chipotle has not been disclosed.
Among the sickened students were two Boston College basketball players, who then missed Sunday’s game, where the depleted Eagles squad was upset at the hands of UMass Lowell.
Chipotle said it was working with local officials to sanitize the Boston franchise and to test all employees for the norovirus.
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. Common symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain.
Norovirus can persist in an environment for up to six weeks, said Benjamin Chapman, a food safety specialist at North Carolina State University.
8, Denver-based Chipotle had seen its stock value drop by nearly a third from a 52-week high of $758 per share.
Most people can spread the virus from the time they feel sick until 3 days after they get better.
Chipotle, which has about 1,900 locations across the United States, also faced E. coli, norovirus and salmonella outbreaks in Washington, California and Minnesota over the summer.
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That possibility hammered Chipotle’s stock for a second day, knocking it down another $9.63 per share, or down 1.75 percent, during regular trading hours to $542.12.
