Fat Duck’s Staff May Have Norovirus
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 by justinsmith
The staff members of Fat Duck Restaurant, though contaminated with the norovirus Winter Vomiting disease, continue working there, U.K. health officials reported today.
The agency disclosed today in an e-mailed declaration that the Health Protection Agency has discovered norovirus infection in around six staff members and eight diners. The agency added they identified and dealt with causes of staff sickness. They were able to make it clear through staff interviews, disease reports and samples that their staff worked while being infected with norovirus.
About 529 diners have complained of diarrhea and vomiting after consuming food at Chef Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant, west of London, as reported by the agency. As per the agency’s specifications people having norovirus infection should not be involved in the preparation of food. There is an ever present danger of passing the infection through such people.
The Fat Duck Restaurant, famous for ground-breaking dishes such as snail porridge and the like, remain closed for more than a fortnight. On March 12, it opened and functioned under the guidance of the agency and environmental health officers to identify and manage staff illness.
A spokeswoman from Freud Communications, speaking in support of the Fat Duck, expressed in a telephonic interview that they believed the investigation of the environmental health officers are ongoing and they want to reach the source of that. She insisted that her identity is kept confidential. She added if it were the case that members of staff were operating while still having a flu virus infection, then it was indeed an honest mistake on their part.
Norovirus disease affects nearly 1 million persons per annum in the U.K., as declared by the National Health Service. Contact with an infected person, getting in touch with surfaces or stuff that are infected with the virus, or eating unhygienic food or water are reported to be the probable causes that may lead to this disease.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aq85QmM5D76s&refer=home