Hand sanitizers and cleaning mean fewer kids home sick from school
New research in the journal Pediatrics has concluded that,
"A multifactorial intervention including hand sanitizer and surface disinfection reduced absenteeism caused by gastrointestinal illness in elementary school students. Norovirus was found less often on classroom surfaces in the intervention group. Schools should consider adopting these practices to reduce days lost to common illnesses."
Wonder if it would work for restaurants.
Science fiction conference grounded -- by barf
Some 50 attendees at the world's leading feminist science fiction convention. WisCon32, which rocked Madison, Wisconsin's Concourse Hotel May 23-25, 2008, were stricken with symptoms similar to those of stomach flu.
Officials with Dane County and the Madison Public Health Department think some attendees might have been exposed to the illness before the convention since they developed symptoms so soon after arriving. The sick ones may have then infected others through personal contact and shared access to food.
Neil Young, Blu-Ray and norovirus
Earlier this week, Neil Young unveiled his long-awaited Archive project on Blu-Ray Disc at the Sun Microsystems JavaOne conference in San Francisco.
Yesterday, San Francisco public health officials warned of an outbreak of norovirus that has sickened several people who were attending or working at conferences at the Moscone Center between April 30 and May 8, 2008.
As Caroline McCarthy noted in her story,
"To clarify, this is a virus that makes you barf and gives you diarrhea. It's not the kind of virus that sends Viagra-pitching e-mails to all your friends or treats you to a Rick Astley sing-along every time you turn on your computer."
Further information on noroviruses can be found at the Department of Public Health Web site at http://sfcdcp.org/norovirus.cfm.
Mexican restaurant in Ohio closes after 23 sickened with norovirus
Health officials closed the Acapulco Mexican Restaurante in Xenia, Ohio, for several hours Friday after 23 people reported becoming sick.
Mark McDonnell, with the Greene County Health Department, said,
"We strongly suspect it's the Norwalk virus simply because of the time frame. People reported getting sick within 24 hours, and it only lasts 24 to 48 hours. … We had a couple of employees ill last week, and they might have come back on a little too early and were still shedding the virus."
Health officials ordered workers to sanitize the restaurant before it reopened at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon. Inspectors said the restaurant meets all its requirements and is now safe for customers.
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All natural norovirus at Chipotle in Ohio
The Chipotle restaurant across from Kent State University in Ohio appears to be the source of hundreds of norovirus illnesses this weekend.
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One report cited Kent health officials as saying that 432 people had reported norovirus symptoms as of Monday afternoon.
Victims began showing up at local hospitals Thursday evening and the restaurant closed Friday.
Many of those who got ill were Kent State University students. The restaurant is directly across from the campus, and students who took part in a recent American Red Cross blood drive received a coupon for free food at Chipotle.
Kent Health Commissioner John Ferlito said Saturday the health department and the Denver-based restaurant chain agreed to switch employees out of concern that the outbreak might be caused by a sick employee. Several of the restaurant's employees had been ill, but they also had eaten the restaurant's food.
Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said in a statement Saturday,
"Local health department officials have found no violations in inspections of our Kent State restaurant conducted after this incident was first reported, and again in an inspection this morning. We have reopened our restaurant with their full support. We have taken preventative steps that meet or exceed health department requirements, and will continue to assist them in their investigation."
If someone wants to check out Kent State University and Chipotle on Facebook, I bet there's lots of stories to hear.
Antibiotics? How about norovirus?
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Roy Costa, guest barfblogger: The "Great Escapes Resort" can't escape scrutiny after viral outbreak
A Six Flags water park and resort complex in up-state New York known as "Great Escapes", is the
focus of a large norovirus outbreak. Norovirus is transmitted from infected human carriers to food, water, and environmental surfaces. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognize noroviruses (and related viral strains) as the leading cause of foodborne illness in the US. The gastrointestinal illness is highly communicable and easily spread by hand to hand contact and even through the air. Outbreaks occur in resorts and other facilities when ill persons contaminate the environment, food and water through vomit and feces. Rapid and effective measures well-known to the public health community are needed to stop transmission. Many of these measures are developed by the US Public Health Service. Cruise lines have experienced many norovirus outbreaks and therefor there is much known about the pathogen and how to address it.
Untimely Responses to the Problem
According to the local health department a case of norovirus at the Great Escapes is defined as a person with norovirus symptoms at the resort on or after March 7, 2008. The health department therefore belives the date of March 7 was the beginning of the outbreak, but did not for some unexplained reason begin an investigation for ten days. It is not known to this writer when the operator of the facility was first aware of that employees and patrons were becoming ill. We are also unaware of how or when the health department was officially notified of the problem. The official coordinated response to this outbreak began on March 17, a full 10 days after the outbreak apparently began. By March 21, there were already 200 cases. The number of reported cases eventually reached at least 435 as news of the incident spread.
Rapid tests using sophisticated molecular testing platforms are available to provide confirming results of norovirus infection in 24 hours, yet investigators over 1 week into the investigation still didn't have a confirming diagnosis from the state lab. The slow state lab results were an unnecessary delay, as approved private labs are available.
Early recognition of this problem is critical. Once it is known that norovirus is in the environment, investigators can implement timely and appropriate sanitation and safety precautions to combat transmission. One example of appropriate response was the closing of the food service. But this only occured after numerous employees of the kitchen reported symptoms of norovirus. The pools, food and lodging facilities are undoubtedly contaminated. Delay in the the implementation of this and other preventive measures at this public, regulated facility likely increased the potential for the exposure of large numbers of unsuspecting people to the pathogen over several days. The licensed operator's delay in recognizing and reporting a large number of ill patrons and staff to authorities, the response of the authorities once notified, and the timeliness and effectiveness of prevention measures taken are critical questions.
Lawsuit
Four members of a family sickened by the resort have filed a lawsuit. Key issues that must be scrutinized are the delay between the start of the outbreak and notification of the health authorities, the large number of food service staff ill and whether they worked while ill, the basis for the decision to close the kitchen, and the basis for management's decision to allow the rest of the facility to remain open..
Unanswered Questions
A detailed analysis of the cases and their relationships to the food service or other environmental exposures will be key to determining the causes of this large and serious outbreak and whether the operator responded in an effective and timely manner to protect both it's employees and guests.
Could the large number of cases of illness been reduced if more timely and effective prevention measures were implemented at Great Escapes?
To read more, select the links below.
Health Department official statement Norovirus at Great Escapes Water Park
1st article from the Post Star. March 21st, 200 cases reported
2nd article from the Post Star, March 16th, 435 cases reported
Channel 6 report. Lawsuits filed.
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Mr. Costa is a professor at the Walt Disney World Center for Hospitality and the Culinary Arts at Valencia College in Orlando, Florida and is the founder and owner of the consulting firm Environ Health Associates, Inc. Mr. Costa is a registered professional sanitarian with 30 years of environmental heath practice in the academic, government and private sectors.
For our manual on Norovirus Contamination and Control send an email to rcosta1@cfl.rr.com
Irony strikes: illness fells 65 at medical meeting
Health officials said more than 60 people fell ill after attending a medical convention, with several reporting symptoms as they prepared to leave on flights from Washington.
Many of the victims came forward Friday, the day after attending the meeting Thursday at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md.
Staff members of the Prince George's County health department interviewed resort workers and inspected the center to determine what caused the illness. A private company has already started cleaning.
Norovirus (?) strikes Socorro, New Mexico
Manhattan (Kansas) already feels empty as Kansas State University prepares for the annual adolescent orgy of excess known as Spring Break.
Two years ago I experienced my first U.S.-style spring break with Amy and we went on the great Tex-Mex road trip, heading south through Oklahoma and then west to Albuquerque.
We stayed for an hour; didn't like it. So we headed south, stopping for the night in Socorro, NM. We spent the next morning walking around the campus of New Mexico Tech, raising suspicions by wandering to close to classified areas, and checking out the PhD hair salon. Then it was off to a bizarre encounter in Truth or Consequences, NM, and eventually to Tuscon.
But back to Socorro. On March 6, 2008, the Student Health Center issued a statement saying the
New Mexico Tech campus has identified an outbreak of an intestinal disorder (gastroenteritis). … We are working with the N.M. Department of Public Health to identify the specific type of pathogen and how to treat it. … Hand-washing and hand sanitizers are effective methods to reduce the spread of pathogens Surface sanitizing with chlorine based-cleaners is recommended in areas where a virus may be present on surfaces. Residential Life has already begun a marketing campaign to encourage hand- washing. Facilities Management and Residential Life staff also are using different cleaning products to decrease the spread of the suspected virus.
However, a student informs barfblog.com that students began blogging about norovirus striking the campus before March 2, 2008.
On March 3, 2008, another student blogs that they were questioned about what they had eaten at Chartwells, but doesn't identify who questioned them. On March 4, 2008, a student posts on their blog that they were questioned by the N.M. Health Department about their diet for the previous five days. Another student reports on March 6, 2008, after the warning was issued by the Student Health Center, that,
"It's a little late for this warning. My friends and I were all sick at different points over the last two weeks."
Our correspondent reports,
"I was around for "Death Meal 82" and "Death Meal 85" (no one actually died) living in town but I suspect a lot of people have either forgotten those events or are hoping to avoid bad publicity for the school/town. Death Meal 85 was eventually identified as a bucket full of raw chicken that was subsequently used to carry ice to the ice machine."
Local media has shown almost no interest in the outbreak.
Wrestling and norovirus
Did Garp worry about norovirus while wrestling?
Dr. Chill Yee, a sports medicine fellow with the Montana Family Medicine Residency in Billings, worries about norovirus and wrestling.
"You can imagine with such a high-contact sport how easily things are spread. … This is unique because we have such high contact. Another event here, say rodeo or arena football, you're not going to have that contact even though it's a dense crowd."
The Billings Gazette reports that Yee was among medical professionals charged with screening more than 700 athletes in the state wrestling tournament at MetraPark Arena this weekend for communicable diseases.
Don Gleason, the tournament's medical director, said mats are washed between matches with a disinfectant, adding,
"We have people assigned to do that. The clean mats will keep the chance of spreading (anything) to a minimum."
Fewer cruise ship norovirus outbreaks in 2007
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that cruise passengers got a break last year, as serious cases of gastrointestinal illness at sea fell sharply after setting a record in 2006.
Last year, there were 16 confirmed outbreaks of norovirus on ships monitored by the CDC, down from 29 outbreaks the year before.
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Federal ship regulators say cruise lines have become the model for fighting outbreaks of norovirus, which spreads easily and causes flu-like symptoms for 48 to 72 hours.
Capt. Jaret Ames, head of the vessel sanitation program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, said,
"They're much better at it today than they were in 2002."
Last year, 12.6 million people took a cruise worldwide. The cruise Web site cruisejunkie.com calculates that at least 4,159 passengers fell ill with norovirus.
Steps to avoid norovirus on a cruise:
Don't touch door handles, handrails or other communal surfaces and then touch your mouth or nose. Wash your hands often.
Make use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, especially in food-service areas.
Before booking a cruise, compare health inspection reports of vessels and cruise lines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site — http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/pub/CruisingTips/cruisingtips.htm — provides inspection scores. Any score below 85 is considered unsatisfactory.
Diners contract norovirus at California hotel
San Mateo County Director of Environmental Health Dean Peterson said that laboratory tests revealed Thursday that 62 of about 200 people attending a Redwood City-San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce event at Hotel Sofitel on Jan. 24 were infected with norovirus..jpg)
The Examiner reports that health officials had pinpointed either the salmon or chicken, which was served as the evening’s main courses, and that nobody who chose the vegetarian entrée fell sick. Contaminated workers could have been the source.
Inspectors found evidence that the Sofitel’s staff was re-using dirty towels to wipe down tables, food being kept too hot or too cold and a dishwasher who was touching clean dishes directly after touching dirty dishes. Hotel management immediately corrected the violations.
Norovirus isn't good for business
The Daily Journal in California reports that 45 of 200 guests at a Redwood City-San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce gathering at the Hotel Sofitel last week may have contracted the highly communicable norovirus.
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The chamber was holding its annual dinner and awards recognition banquet, according to the group’s Web site.
Sofitel spokeswoman Janice Maragakis was cited as saying none of the hotel’s other guests or employees came down ill, but that General Manager Didier de La Ferrier belongs to the chamber and also came down ill. He thought it was simply the flu until the first calls came in.
The story notes that the Hotel Sofitel has no prior violations or health complaints on record.
Villanova students have upset stomachs, basketball team gets upset
The Associated Press is reporting an outbreak of norovirus at Villanova University. Health officials are saying the nasty virus sent 14 people to the emergency room and has sickened close to 100 others. 
Officials also say that they don't think a common food vehicle is involved as ill students live both on campus and off. Maybe noro was one of the reasons for the No. 18 team's loss at home to Notre Dame yesterday: no fan support because everybody was on the toilet?
Preventative handwashing limits pissed off passengers
The Evening Standard reports that 78 passengers have been stricken with norovirus and confined to their cabins on what has been dubbed The 'Curse of Camilla' cruise ship on only its second cruise.
The passengers, including former Formula 1 motor-racing champion Sir Jackie Stewart, dubbed the Canary Islands trip the "cruise from hell" after complaining about poor room service, blocked toilets, a lack of Christmas decorations, cold food and extra charges for tea and coffee. They complained hygiene standards were "appalling" and that the outbreak was connected to poor food handling.
Passengers said it was only after the virus struck that Cunard provided alcohol-based hand gel to combat its spread – by which time it was too late.
Jean Trainor, 49, from Blackburn, Lancashire, said,
"No hygiene rules were implemented until people fell ill. If they had been, maybe this could have been avoided. There has also been problems with lavatories not flushing. Everyone I've spoken to is pissed off, including the crew because they're having to put up with all the guests moaning. I resent having paid £7,500 to be on this cruise. I'll never sail on the Queen Vic again."
Ron Wade, 71, from South Lanarkshire, said,
"I was very surprised that nobody was being told that they must wash their hands in antiseptic lotion as a matter of course. Since people became ill, we have all been advised not to use the public loos to stop the spread of the virus. Unfortunately, some of the loos in our cabins have been blocked."
The Evening Standard says that when Cunard's £300million MS Queen Victoria luxury liner was officially launched by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall in Southampton three weeks ago, the bottle of champagne failed to smash against the bow, prompting superstitious speculation that the ship was cursed.
Maybe. Or maybe cruise ships and their staff need to go out of their way to encourage handwashing and hygiene. And proper handwashing requires access to proper tools; before the outbreak happens.
Raw oysters cause seven in Tennessee to barf
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to eat raw oysters harvested from West Karako Bay, a section of Growing Area 3 in Louisiana. These oysters, harvested from Dec. 3 through Dec. 21, may be contaminated with norovirus.
Consumers who ate raw oysters on or after Dec. 3 and experienced these symptoms are encouraged to contact their health care providers and local health departments. Consumers concerned about the origin of oysters they have recently purchased should contact the place of purchase to determine if the oysters were harvested from the identified area during the Dec. 3-21 period.
FDA has received reports of norovirus infection in seven individuals who ate raw oysters on Dec. 13 at a restaurant in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Tennessee Department of Health's test results from two of the ill patients were positive for norovirus. FDA confirmed the presence of norovirus in shell oysters harvested from the West Karako Bay section of Growing Area 3 and were served at the restaurant. Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals closed the affected growing area on Dec. 21. FDA is working with the states involved to determine if any additional actions may be necessary to ensure public health protection.
The original shipper of the oysters is Prestige Oyster Company of Theriot, La. The company shipped the oysters to Bon Secour Fisheries in Bon Secour, Ala. Bon Secour Fisheries, in turn, shipped the oysters to the restaurant in Chattanooga. Considering the shelf-life of the product, it is possible that suspect oysters from the designated area are still available in other retail and food service settings.
FDA advises that it's always best to cook seafood thoroughly to minimize the risk of foodborne illness. Consumers can continue to enjoy oysters in many cooked preparations by following this advice:
At Restaurants and other Foodservice Establishments:
0. Order oysters fully cooked.
In the Shell:
• Purchase oysters with the shells closed. Throw away any oysters with shells already opened.
To prepare oysters for eating, choose one of the following methods:
• Boil oysters until the shells open. Once open, boil for an additional 3-5 minutes.
• Steamer - add oysters to water that are already steaming and cook live oysters until the shells open; once open steam for another 4-9 minutes.
• Use smaller pots to boil or steam oysters. Using larger pots, or cooking too many oysters at one time, may cause uneven heat distribution, which may cause the oysters in the middle to not get fully cooked.
• Discard any oysters that do not open during cooking.
Shucked Oysters:
To prepare oysters for eating, choose one of the following methods:
• Boil or simmer shucked oysters for at least 3 minutes or until the edges curl.
• Fry at 375 degrees for at least 3 minutes.
• Broil 3 inches from heat for 3 minutes.
• Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.
For further information contact:
FDA Food Safety Hotline: 1-888-SAFEFOOD_FDA website: www.cfsan.fda.gov
Ben's barf for barfblog
Well I don't actually have a picture of it, but for the past 21 hours or so I've been stricken with something nasty. Maybe it is norovirus, sure seems like it might be.
Here's what's been happening to me:
- Trips to the bathroom for vomiting = 2
- Trips to the bathroom for diarrhea = 6
- Stomach cramps = lots
Every time I drink something (which I have limited to water) I get some wicked cramps.
Haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday.
I really was hoping to get a picture to make the blog authentic, but a camera was the last thing I was thinking of. I promised Doug I'd snap a pic of my next trip to the bathroom.
Ironically this week's infosheet is all about norovirus, you can find it here.
BalletLORENT cancelled because of barf
The Blackpool Gazette in the U.K. reports that a second Blackpool hotel, the Metropole, is at the centre of a suspected norovirus outbreak.
The Newcastle-based balletLORENT performed their opening night on Friday, but Saturday's performance was called off 15 minutes after the curtain was due to go up.
Grand Theatre house manager Stephen Williams took to the stage to break the bad news to the audience, stating,
"Unfortunately due to a virulent outbreak of food poisoning the company is unable to perform. They are unable to perform how they wish to perform and how you would like to see them perform."
The audience was offered a full refund or credit note to use for future productions.
If you're sick, stay at home
"In this outbreak, vomiting by a line cook at the work station might have contributed to transmission … Because of the open physical layout of the restaurant, no barrier impeded airborne spread of the virus from the kitchen to the main dining area."
Or so concludes the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in its write-up of a Jan. 2006 norovirus outbreak in Michigan (it was a Carrabba's Italian Grill in Lansing, Mich.) in which "at least 364 restaurant patrons became ill with gastroenteritis after dining at a restaurant where employees had reported to work while ill."
At the time of the outbreak, a food service employee in Lansing wrote that, "What happened at Carrabba's could occur at any of our local eateries. Not because their kitchens are not clean, not because they don't follow all of the safety standards, but because sick employees report to work. There is an internal peer pressure to report to work even when you are ill, not to mention that a day without pay can be crucial for some families."
The industry spokesthingies may say that sick employees should not work, but the reality is, no work, no pay. So, for the food industry, tell your sick employees to stay at home, and perhaps even provide incentives, like allowing for a couple of sick days. The cost of a few workers abusing the system pales in comparison to the lawsuits and lost business.
Following the outbreak, the Barry-Eaton District Health Department (where Lansing, MI, is located) issued four recommendations (based on previously published guidelines) for infection control and environmental decontamination after any vomiting incident in a food-service establishment (what to do after someone barfs):
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• Any exposed food or single-service articles (e.g., drinking straws, takeout containers, and paper napkins) should be discarded, and all surface areas within at least a 25-foot radius of the vomiting site should be disinfected with a bleach solution;
• ill employees should be excluded from work for at least 72 hours after symptoms subside, and employees returning after a gastrointestinal illness should be restricted from handling kitchenware or ready-to-eat food for an additional 72 hours;
• because thorough disinfection might be necessary, partial or complete closure of the food establishment should be considered after a vomiting incident
• restrooms used during or after a vomiting incident should be closed immediately until they are disinfected properly with bleach solution.
You vomit on the bus, you pay; norovirus is the best excuse
The Associated Press is reporting that George Washington University students who get drunk and barf on the university's shuttle bus could be charged hundreds of dollars to clean up the bus, plus the cost of cab vouchers for other students trying to get home.
The policy will be enforced by "mystery riders," who could be on board at any time.
The Vern Express runs round the clock between the university's Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses.
University officials say when someone gets sick, the driver has to stop the bus, unload the passengers and arrange rides home.
The policy follows an increase in the number of incidents and complaints from students about delays. School officials say it applies only to students who are drunk -- not those who are actually sick.
The were several of those in Manhattan last night, as a late game meant the "official" tailgating started at 3 pm, and didn't wrap up until 12:30 a.m., with a 47-20 Kansas State victory over Colorado, and allowing K-State to sneak back into the college football rankings at #25 in the AP poll (shout-out to my Canadian Food Inspection Agency fans).
One of our golf friends tried the norovirus excuse on the first fairway after a night of excess several years ago in Newport News, Virginia.
It didn't work.
Australia gears up for gastro epidemic to sweep nation
While Doug sits patiently on a plane bound for Australia, the Age reports today that a virulent strain of gastroenteritis is expected to infect tens of thousands of Australians in the coming months.
Viral experts are cited as saying the outbreak of highly infectious norovirus will cause a second wave of sick leave on the back of the current influenza epidemic.
This year's strain, which has already spread through Europe, is more contagious than last year's gastro bug, and has already been linked to outbreaks and visitor bans at some hospitals in Queensland, Adelaide and NSW.
Virologist Peter White, from the University of NSW, is quoted as saying, "We are seeing a wave of multiple outbreaks that is already spreading across Australia."
The virus is expected to hit hardest in crowded environments like childcare centres, nursing homes and hospitals, Dr White was further cited as saying.
Public health experts are said to be puzzled by the random periodic emergence of new strains which cause rapid-fire outbreaks before suddenly vanishing again.
Don Schaffner, guest barfblogger: You remember Leonard Skinner. He got ptomaine poisoning last night after dinner
Bill Marler's most recent post got me thinking about summer camp food safety again.
Marler's post mentions that kids and parents at a church camp in North
Carolina ate Castleberry's chili that had been recalled nearly one month
earlier. While Marler appears to lay the blame on Castleberry's, I think
camp officials are at least partly responsible. In my experience summer
camp officials don't always make good food safety decisions.
I still remember the summer my oldest son worked at a nearby camp. He
explained all his important duties, one of which was making sure that the
refrigerator temperature logs were filled in with the "correct" temperatures
when the health inspector was due for a visit.
Another example of camp making bad decisions happened earlier this summer
when a norovirus outbreak hit a scout camp in Pensylvannia. As the
link explains, the first week the camp had "several" norovirus cases in
camp. They cleaned up and brought in the next weeks campers, and were hit
even harder, with at least 55 ill... so they decided to send all 500 campers
home!
What the story doesn't explain (as I learned from a colleague whose son was
one of the 500 sent home the second week) is that parents were not told of
the first outbreak when they dropped their kids off for the second week.
Certainly a bit of honest communication with parents about the outbreak the
first week might have made for fewer irate parents the second week.
Don Schaffner is an Extension Specialist in Food Science at Rutgers
University. In is spare time he likes to go camping and backpacking with
the Boy Scouts.
Barf detergent, washes out noro?
Love the tag line of this detergent (found this on a another blog yesterday):
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Dirty socks? Wash them with Barf
For "Extra cleaning power" and a "Fresh perfume" smell, choose Barf detergent.
This Iranian washing powder is suited for handwashing and top-loading machines only. Don't use it in front loaders.
Barf, or "???" means "snow" in Farsi.
--
There are probably lots of patrons of Parker's Steakhouse in Longview, WA who are probably finding barf (or barf-covered clothing) in their laundry following a norovirus outbreak at the restaurant. The Olympian reports that at least 123 Parker's Steak House customers and two restaurant workers had become ill with noro. The investigation is reportedly focusing on an ill patron or worker who brought the virus into the restaurant. Don't eat poop, or barf.
Rockstars fall ill
Here is a story from The Flat Hat, which is the newspaper for the College of William and Mary. It involves two popular bands falling ill with suspected norovirus:
***MCR falls ill after concert***
01.may.07
The Flat Hat (Virginia)
Brian Mahoney
http://www.flathatnews.com/news/933/mcr-falls-ill-after-concert
Last weekend did not end romantically for rock band My Chemical Romance.
The group was forced to cancel their Sunday night show at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania, after 16 crew and band members fell ill, according to the BJC’s Director of Public Relations Bernie Punt.
Punt told Penn State’s student newspaper, The Daily Collegian, that members from the opening band Muse also fell ill late Saturday night.
Jonathan Seiden - The Flat Hat. My Chemical Romance performs for an almost sold-out audience at William and Mary Hall April 28.
He said that both crew and band members were stricken by “severe food poisoning.”
“We had a doctor in here all day,” Punt told the Collegian Sunday. “They’re not getting any better.”
Punt also told The Flat Hat that the band was forced to postpone their May 1 show in Columbus, Ohio due to continued sickness.
According to Punt, chicken wraps served at the College Saturday had caused the illness.
The Green Leafe, located on Scotland Street, was the sole caterer of the event, and they also served chicken wraps, Glen Gormley, the owner of the restaurant, said.
Gormley also said that no one from the band has contacted the Green Leafe, and that he could not confirm if the wraps had caused the illnesses.
