Sick employees preparing food is the likely cause of a Norovirus outbreak at a Syracuse, N.Y., restaurant associated with nearly 100 illnesses, the Onondaga County Health Department has reported.
Twin Trees Too restaurant is expected to reopen before Thursday after being shutdown for a thorough cleaning. Norovirus was spread at the restaurant sometime around the last weekened of February.
Onondaga County Health Commissioner, Dr. Cynthia Morrow, said that the investigation into the outbreak is ongoing, but appears likely to be related to salad or antipasto than it does to the restaurant’s pizza.
Noroviruses are the most common cause of gastroenteritis, or stomach illness, in the United States. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year more than 20 million cases of acute gastroenteritis are caused by noroviruses. That means about 1 in every 15 Americans will get norovirus illness each year.
Norovirus is also estimated to cause over 70,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths each year in the United States.
There’s no vaccine to prevent norovirus infection and no drug to treat it. Wash your hands often and stay home if you have symptoms of this highly contagious bug, which causes nausea, diarrhea, throwing up and stomach cramping. Most people get better in one to two days.
