On January 17, 2012, the first complaints about food poisoning started trickling in to Catawba County Public Health (CCPH) in North Carolina. In all, 128 people have gotten sick. And the one thing they had in common: they all ate at Conover’s Harbor Inn Seafood Restaurant on the same weekend.
People who were sickened ate at the restaurant the weekend of January 13 and exhibited symptoms of a foodborne illness within 12 to 24 hours, including intense nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. No one has required hospitalization.
Today, the Catawba County Public Health department received confirmation that norovirus is linked to the illness. Lab analysis of stool samples revealed the virus is the culprit. Norovirus is very contagious and is usually transmitted by sick food handlers and when people who prepare or serve food fail to wash their hands. All it takes is one employee who is ill to start an outbreak.
The CCPH has been monitoring the situation and has inspected the restaurant. They say the restaurant is following “extra-stringent safe foodservice recommendations.” The restaurant has received high inspection marks, including a grade of A with a score of 99.5 on December 29, 2011.
The North Carolina Division of Public Health is consulting on this case. If you or someone you know ate at that restaurant on that particular weekend and became ill, call the Catawba County Public Health office at 1-828-695-5800.
