EVANSTON, IL (CBS) — A $1 burrito deal at a downtown Evanston restaurant turns out to be bad news for Northwestern students and Evanston residents.
The Evanston Department of Health and Human Services warned Wednesday that it is tracking an outbreak of norovirus linked to Special Burrito.
The department is working with Northwestern University to investigate the outbreak. Investigators say people suffered from abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea after eating Big Wig Tacos & Burritos during an event on Saturday, Nov. 18, where Big Wig Tacos & Burritos offered $1 burritos to college students. I learned that you had reported.
The event was held last Saturday from 1-8 p.m. Big Wig Tacos & Burritos is located at 950 Church St. in downtown Evanston.
Soon after, complaints started coming in to the Evanston Health and Human Services Department, which led to an immediate inspection of Bigwig Tacos and Burritos. The department investigated the restaurant’s cleaning and disinfection procedures and found that the restaurant had a health policy in place for its employees.
According to the police department, Bigwig fully cooperated with the investigation.
Everyone who ate at Big Wig Taco & Burrito in Evanston on Saturday, Nov. 18 will be asked to complete the following: This surveyit doesn’t matter if you get sick or not.
Norovirus is also called the “stomach cold,” but it has nothing to do with influenza.
“This is a unique virus,” says Dr. Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Norovirus can cause diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal pain.
In such cases, the virus is likely to be spread through food, Dr. Wallace said.
“Hand washing is so important for prevention. That’s why there’s a sign in every restaurant bathroom that says, ‘Employees must wash their hands before returning to work.’ That’s really important when feeding people,” Wallace said. . “This is the main way infection spreads in a restaurant environment. People infected with norovirus prepare food using their bare hands without washing their hands.”
The virus can also be spread by surfaces, fluids, and from person to person. It is unclear how many students were affected.
“Norovirus typically lasts one to three days,” Wallace said. “It could be a very distressing few days for people.”
Mr. Wallace emphasized the need to stay hydrated in case of norovirus infection.
“It can lead to hospitalization, but usually it doesn’t,” she says. “But for those people, it’s important to drink lots of water, because what actually makes the disease more severe is when people become dehydrated.”
We reached out to Bigwig Taco & Burrito but had not heard back late Wednesday.
When we stopped by the Evanston location, the restaurant appeared to be closed for the day.
