More than 100 people got sick after eating at a Subway restaurant in Hartford City, Indiana last month. The Blackford County Health Department is investigating, but hasn’t been able to determine if an employee or a customer caused the outbreak. The cause of the outbreak was probably norovirus.
Three of the victims were hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestines). The restaurant voluntarily closed and was cleaned and sanitized by an independent company. All opened food was discarded and replaced with fresh food.
But, after re-opening, the restaurant was cited for soiled floors, debris on the floor, not protecting the back door against rodent entry, mold on the soda unit, and other violations.
Any virus is easily spread in many ways. If a customer failed to wash his hands after using the bathroom, he could leave the virus on doorknobs, trays, or utensil holders. An ill employee could spread the virus all around the restaurant and, in fact, more than one employee was ill, although at the same time as everyone else.
A complete investigation won’t be finished for several months. A “hot wash” meeting will be held today with the county health department staff to see what can be learned from the outbreak. There is a code in Indiana that became law in 2000 regulating food workers who have diagnosed illnesses, but that code wasn’t enforced until 2008. The code states that any employee who is sick with Salmonella, shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Shigella, hepatitis A, or norovirus must stay out of the restaurant.
