Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Norovirus,Outbreaks & Recalls on December 8, 2024
An outbreak of Norovirus at Faccia Luna pizzeria and Italian restaurant that sickened at least 40 people prompted both state and local health department investigations.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health via the Department of Agriculture and the State College Health Department are investigating the source.
Here’s what we know about the recent outbreak of norovirus at Faccia Luna restaurant.
At least 40 people fell sick with symptoms consistent with foodborne illness, says Pennsylvania Department of Health. Laboratory evidence confirms norovirus was the cause of these illnesses.
What do they have in common?
They visited or worked at Faccia Luna, a State College restaurant.
Faccia Luna
1229 S. Atherton St.
State College, PA 16801
The restaurant was closed for at least three days in the aftermath of norovirus at Faccia Luna illnesses. According to reports, most of the restaurant’s staff and a number of customers fell sick with a gastrointestinal illness at the same time.
At least 40 people reported symptoms consistent with norovirus infection. Vomiting, diarrhea, and fever were common complaints, said Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The State College restaurant closed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for sanitation. This extended closure, according to owner, Bill McFadden, was due to not having enough staff and time for proper sanitizing activities.
Post-norovirus exposure event sanitation procedures are extensive and involve cleaning and sanitizing all surfaces in a restaurant. When you think about every door handle, every door surface, every counter, chair, piece of equipment and every square inch of a bathroom. That takes some time.
When staff is limited, it can take even longer.
According to the Faccia Luna restaurant owner, food was not the cause. He cites that none of the Faccia Luna employees ate salad at the restaurant but still became sick.
The restaurant owner has a theory.
He believes that an infected person (either an employee or customer) “brought it in” to the restaurant.
“I’m sure most people, they got sick and they ate food and they blamed it on the food,” McFadden said. “Well, it was not the food… [Norovirus] is very contagious and it’s unfortunate for everybody. And so I feel terrible, but it wasn’t the food and it wasn’t any of our procedures is all I can tell you.”
Unfortunately, this stance will likely not get Faccia Luna off the hook.
Faccia Luna’s previous Retail Food Inspection Report from 2/22/2024 included two violations. One involved repairing the premises (bathroom walls/paints).
The other involved sanitation.
According to the report, the “floors in the kitchen leading into the bar are soiled with a black residue.” Indicating that some lapse in cleaning procedures may occur at the establishment.
No other violations were observed at the time of inspection.
Common symptoms of norovirus infection include vomiting and diarrhea. It is sometimes referred to as “the stomach bug” or “stomach flu” despite being an entirely unrelated virus from influenza.
Common symptoms of norovirus infection include:
There is no cure for norovirus. No antibiotic treatment is effective against this type of infection.
If infected, your best bet is to hydrate and rest until symptoms subside. If symptoms become severe or you become dehydrated, seek medical attention right away.
Some of the symptoms overlap with the flu. But the infection is acquired in a totally different way. Experts call it “fecal-oral route.”
It only takes a small amount. Even traces too small for the eye to see can transfer enough virus to make a person sick.
Touching the doorhandle or faucet after someone who was sick and didn’t effectively wash their hands touched it. Then eating or touching your mouth.
Norovirus can be lurking anywhere! On pens you sign your check with. Or the edge of the chair seat as you pull yourself closer to the table. On the menu. Yep. There too!
Unfortunately, most norovirus infections go undiagnosed and unreported. This is because symptoms tend to be too mild to seek medical attention.
When normally healthy people with a good immune system do not report their illness because “it’s not that bad,” they leave the more vulnerable population at greater risk. While most people can recover without major illness, some people (like the very young, the very old, and those with a weakened immune system) can become seriously ill.
Reporting your illness allows local health departments to investigate a potential outbreak before it continues to spread and potentially cause serious harm to those more vulnerable to complications.
If you have symptoms consistent with norovirus, both state and local health departments urge you to report your symptoms.
“It is suggested that anyone experiencing symptoms of foodborne illness should consult with their physician on whether they need to be treated,” said Kayla Lafferty, spokesperson for State College Health Department.
“To report the symptoms of foodborne illness, people are asked to email the Borough at healthdept@statecollegepa.us and Betsy Negron, the PA Department of Health Epidemiologist for this region, at elnegron@pa.gov.”
If you were impacted by the norovirus at Faccia Luna and have questions about making a legal claim, The Lange Law Firm, PLLC has a norovirus lawyer that can help!
An experienced norovirus lawyer can help you through the difficult process of gathering all of the information needed to successfully hold those responsible for foodborne illness accountable.
Call The Lange Law Firm, PLLC at (833) 330-3663 for a free, no obligation consultation to go over the details of your situation and determine if you have a legal case. Or click here for the online submission form to send an email instead.
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)