120 Sickened at Local Chipotle in Norovirus Outbreak

By Charlene Arsenault (Patch Staff)

NEWTON, MA - Two days after health officials shut down a Boston-area Chipotle Mexican Grill, the sick list has risen to 120 people.

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Boston College students sought treatment at the school’s Health Services, all showing symptoms of norovirus and all reporting having eaten at the Chipotle near the college, campus officials have said. It is the latest in a string of illnesses blamed on Chipotle restaurants around the country. An outbreak of E.coli from Chipotle has spread from the west coast across the U.S., sickening dozens of people in nine states.

In Boston’s case, health officials on Tuesday determined it was a norovirus that sickened the college students, which Chipotle officials acknowledged in a statement.

“We believe it is a norovirus linked to only one restaurant, a sentiment shared by local health officials,” the statement reads.

Boston and Massachusetts department of health officials have found three violations that include chicken and steak not being held at proper temperatures, and an employee working while ill. The Boston Food Services Inspection Department has issued a temporary suspension of the Chipotle on Beacon Street in Cleveland Circle.

“Norovirus is usually transmitted from the feces to the mouth, either by drinking contaminated food or water or by passing from person to person,” according to Foodborne Illness. “Because noroviruses are easily transmitted, are resistant to common disinfectants, and are hard to contain using normal sanitary measures, they can cause extended outbreaks.”

Initially, officials were concerned that the illnesses in Boston were the result of E.coli.

Chipotle Communications Director Chris Arnold told Patch Monday night that there is ”no evidence to suggest this is E.coli” in Boston, and referred to another company statement.

“The safety and well being of our customers is always our highest priority, so our restaurant at Cleveland Circle in Boston is temporarily closed while we work with local health officials to investigate a number of illnesses among Boston College students,” the statement reads. “We do not have any evidence to suggest that this incident is related the previous E. coli incident. There are no confirmed cases of E. coli connected to Chipotle in Massachusetts.”

The norovirus outbreak began with eight Boston College basketball players who missed a game Sunday due to food poisoning, leading many to suspect E.coli, including BC Coaches. The players were among about 30 who initially reported falling ill after eating at the Cleveland Circle Chipotle, most of whom were BC students. The college’s medical staff sent out an email to the campus alerting students and faculty that “numerous people on campus caught E.coli from the Chipotle restaurant in Cleveland Circle.”