Officials: Staff at top restaurant carried
virus
Source of
Article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/03/20/britain.restaurant.fat.duck/
(CNN) --
Investigators probing the illness that forced famed chef Heston Blumenthal to
temporarily close his award-winning Fat Duck restaurant last month said
Friday that 14 staff members and diners were infected with norovirus, a
highly contagious stomach bug. While
the investigation is not yet complete, it is clear that staff at the Michelin-starred
eatery worked while infected with norovirus, which goes against official
guidance, the Health Protection Agency said. The HPA said
that to date, 529 people have reported being ill after eating at renowned Fat
Duck in Berkshire, England. Blumenthal's voluntarily closed his
restaurant in late February after scores of diners reported getting sick. He
reopened it last week. The chef told
Australia's Hospitality magazine Thursday that norovirus was the only
potential cause of the outbreak that had been found so far after exhaustive
tests of the restaurant, staff and customers. "It is
categorically not food poisoning. We know that," Blumenthal told the
magazine. "For the last five years we've been sending food off every
month for sampling, and I don't know any other restaurant in the country that
does that. We also have a company that has been looking after all our health
and safety stuff for the last five years." Noroviruses
cause "stomach flu," or gastroenteritis, according to the Atlanta,
Georgia-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms
of norovirus illness usually include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach
cramping -- all of which were reported among diners who fell ill. In most
people, symptoms last for a couple of days, according to the CDC. Health
authorities say they detected norovirus infection in six staff and eight
diners, along with weaknesses in how the restaurant dealt with staff who were
sick. "Based on
staff interviews, sickness records and samples taken, it is clear that staff
worked while still infectious with norovirus," the agency said.
"HPA guidance states that people should not work in food preparation
while they have symptoms (or) are infectious as a result of diarrhea and vomiting
to avoid the risk of passing the infection to others." Health
authorities gave the restaurant guidance on identifying and managing staff
illness before The Fat Duck reopened, the HPA said. The HPA's
investigation will still take several weeks to finish, said a spokeswoman for
the Thames Valley Health Protection Unit, who declined to be named, in line
with policy. People can
become infected with norovirus in several ways, including eating contaminated
food, touching contaminated surfaces and then putting their hands to their
mouths, or having direct contact with an infected person, the CDC says. The
virus can spread easily from person to person. Blumenthal told
the magazine that support for the restaurant throughout the ordeal has been
"incredible." "It's
affected the restaurant big time because (we) had to cancel 800 people
because of the closure. But in terms of the business and people wanting to
come in, then no," he said. Blumenthal
spoke to the publication as he was in Melbourne, Australia, for a food and
wine festival. Located in the
picturesque village of Bray, The Fat Duck is renowned for such eccentric
items as snail porridge, salmon poached in licorice gel, and scrambled egg
and bacon ice cream. Diners must book months in advance to get a
table. The restaurant charges 130 pounds ($185) for the tasting menu and 98
pounds ($140) for a la carte. |
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