Norovirus outbreak in Seattle prompted closure of food vendors located at the Russell Investments Center. Health authorities are looking into the norovirus outbreak and hope to conclude the investigation soon.
Norovirus outbreak in Seattle prompted closure of food vendors located at the Russell Investments Center. Health authorities are looking into the norovirus outbreak and hope to conclude the investigation soon.
The outbreak linked to food vendors at the Russell Investments Center in Seattle has reportedly sickened over 200 people. Two people are currently hospitalized, eight people required immediate attention in the emergency room and over 200 have reported symptoms.
As the investigation is ongoing, health authorities believe the norovirus outbreak began as 600 people attended an event on Tuesday. The event taking place at the Russell Investments Center in Seattle brought catering food from the food vendors present here. As such the norovirus outbreak in Seattle prompted closure of food vendors.
The Public Health service of Seattle and King County asked the participants at the event to complete a survey indicative of the symptoms triggered by the highly contagious norovirus. 150 people were found to be infected so far, with many more expected to report symptoms soon. 50 cases were directly reported to health authorities. One medical epidemiologist stated that the number of reported cases so far is actually considered low taking into consideration that it’s a norovirus outbreak.
While food vendors have received closure notices, the rest of the tenants of the Russell Investments Center, including Marler Clark and other high-profile names waited patiently as the entire building was cleaned over the weekend as to prevent propping the norovirus outbreak.
Norovirus triggers symptoms such as severe vomiting, abdominal pain and severe diarrhea. The event held in the cafeteria of the building was a farewell party for one of the tenants.
In such a close environment, authorities suspect that some of the people might already have been infected and prompted a chain reaction, leading to the outbreak. Last week another restaurant in the vicinity of the Russell Investments Center was closed on similar grounds. Nonetheless, the two events are unrelated according to health officials.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a norovirus outbreak is the most common occurrence. The foodborne illness is easily spread if food-workers do not wash their hands, it may spread through the air or it just stays on surfaces which are not properly cleaned or disinfected.
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