A Seattle-based Mediterranean restaurant was closed by county health officials Tuesday after several patrons developed symptoms consistent with norovirus.
Officially, Main Street Gyros, located at 301 2nd Ave Ext S, Seattle was closed for a “Imminent health hazard: investigation of possible foodborne illness outbreak”. However, as the Seattle Times reports, a total of three people, from two parties, developed symptoms of norovirus, health officials said.
Health officials say the parties were unrelated but ate at the establishment on the same day. Testing on those ill will not be performed.
The restaurant will clean and sanitize and will be inspected later today.
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.
