Norovirus caused Olive Garden outbreak

Source | 13 Eyewitness News

Indianapolis - A local restaurant closed for illness has been cleared to reopen.Health officials closed the Olive Garden in Castleton on Friday after hundreds complained of illness. Test results came back Monday showing that the cause of the outbreak was a type of norovirus.

Some 370 people complained of illness after eating at the Castleton Olive Garden branch last week. The restaurant has undergone two thorough cleanings with bleach solution and after an inspection by the Marion County Health Department, it has been cleared to open again.

Health Department spokesman John Althardt says stool samples from three restaurant employees and one patron tested positive for a norovirus. The virus can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

The norovirus is often associated with outbreaks at restaurants, cruise ships and nursing homes. It is spread when infected people do not wash their hands thoroughly after using the bathroom. The virus is highly contagious and spreads easily through contaminated surfaces and bodily fluids of the infected individual.

The restaurant says it plans to institute better handwashing procedures. Also, before each shift begins, managers will ask employees if they feel sick. If anyone reports feeling ill, they will be sent home.

Initially it was thought that E.coli might have been responsible for the Olive Garden illness, but the bacteria has been ruled out as a cause. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that E.coli is behind an outbreak at some Taco Bell restaurants on the east coast. Those cases are not related to the Castleton Olive Garden incident.
The Castleton restaurant will reopen Tuesday at 4:00 pm.

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