A Woodbury Chuck E. Cheese restaurant is the focus of an investigation of a norovirus outbreak that sickened at least 30 over the weekend,
The Washington County Public Health Department is trying to determine the source of the gastrointestinal bug. Of the 60 patron interviewed by health officials, half reported falling ill.
The pizza restaurant is scheduled to be closed part of Wednesday for cleaning and sanitization.
The outbreak follows reports of the Minnesota Department of Health saying they’ve been notified of some 40 norovirus outbreaks from November into late December.
Norovirus is a highly contagious viral illness that often goes by other names, such as viral gastroenteritis, stomach flu, and food poisoning.
The symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping. Sometimes people additionally have a low-grade fever, chills,headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of tiredness. The illness often begins suddenly, and the infected person may feel very sick. In most people, the illness is self-limiting with symptoms lasting for about 1 or 2 days. In general, children experience more vomiting than adults do.
Norovirus is spread person to person particularly in crowded, closed places. Norovirus is typically spread through contaminated food and water, touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus and then putting your hand or fingers in your mouth and close contact with someone who is vomiting or has diarrhea.
Norovirus causes more than 20 million illnesses annually in the US, and it is the leading cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks in the United States.
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