Students struck down with norovirus outbreak after $1 burrito event

Students at Northwestern University have been struck down with norovirus after a dollar-burrito event was held on campus.

The Evanston Health and Human Services Department launched an investigation after students complained of stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea following a $1 burrito event at Big Wig Tacos & Burritos last Saturday, the department said.

Big Wig Tacos & Burritos have fully cooperated with the investigation, the department added, which included an inspection of the restaurant and a review of the employee health policy and cleaning and sanitizing procedures.

Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that affects people of all ages. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain and nausea, which develop 12 to 48 hours after being exposed, the health department said.

Symptoms typically dissipate within one to three days, the health department added.

Norovirus can spread through direct contact, as well as through eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated with the virus and touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Contracting norovirus can be prevented by washing hands thoroughly and often with soap and water.

About 48 million people a year in the U.S. are sickened by foodborne illness, including 128,000 who are hospitalized and 3,000 who die, according to the CDC.

In 2020, Mexican fast-food chain Chipotle was fined $25m over the poisoning of more than 1,100 customers across the US with norovirus between 2015 and 2018.

The fine was the largest ever recorded for a food safety case in the US.