Pooler Jalapenos reopens after norovirus shutdown
POOLER, GA (WTOC) - A Jalapenos Mexican Grill in Pooler reopened its doors Wednesday after shutting down during a Chatham County Health Department investigation.
The investigation revealed that the cause of multiple complaints of gastrointestinal illnesses was norovirus.
The Jalapenos in Morgan's Corner 'voluntarily closed' amidst the investigation, but has since reopened after following health department guidelines.
Norovirus is a highly contagious virus which is the leading cause of illness outbreaks from contaminated food in the United States. Symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain, fever, headache, and body aches.
The management of Jalapenos and Chatham County Environmental Health educated staff on safe food handling practices and in-depth cleaning of food equipment to prevent a similar spread of disease in the future.
Read the Health District's statement below:
We have been investigating the situation since last Thursday, July 5, when we first became aware that some patrons of Jalapeno's Mexican Restaurant in Pooler were complaining of gastrointestinal illness. Environmental health specialists conducted environmental assessments at the facility to try to determine a cause. Environmental health specialists and members of the Coastal Health District epidemiology team interviewed several patrons complaining of illness. Based on the information we have, including symptoms and duration of illnesses, we suspect that the likely cause is norovirus, a highly contagious virus which – according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is – the leading cause of illness and outbreaks from contaminated food in the United States. Norovirus can spread quickly and symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain, fever, headache, and body aches. It is possible that there are additional causes for the gastrointestinal illness experienced by some patrons; however, that has not yet been determined. We are awaiting confirmatory testing to determine the agent or agents that caused the gastrointestinal illness.
Chatham County Environmental Health and the management of Jalapenos are working together to ensure that the restaurant is taking all appropriate steps – including but not limited to education of staff on safe food handling practices and a thorough cleaning of food service equipment – to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.
As of July 9, 2018, the Health District received 30 calls with 82 reported illnesses so far.
Read more about the Norovirus and what it does to the body here.
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