Chipotle says norovirus – not E. coli – might have sickened 80 college students

All 80 students confirmed that they ate at a Chipotle CMG, -1.72% during the weekend, and all have been tested for both E. coli and norovirus.

The Denver-based fast-casual operator and Massachusetts Department of Public Health officials suspect the illnesses may be linked to norovirus and not related to the multi-state E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants in six other states.

Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold said the company has temporarily closed the Boston restaurant.

“Right now, we don’t have any indication that there are any issues with the Chipotle’s here”, Anderson said, though she added that the food chain is still investigating exactly what caused the students to fall ill.

People can get norovirus from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The number of Boston College students who have reported to BC Health Services with GI symptoms has risen to 80 as of noon today”.

The college said the students, including some members of the men’s basketball team, complained of gastrointestinal symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea.

Inspection Commissioner William “Buddy” Christopher Jr. told reporters his staff found critical violations at the Mexican restaurant – including hot food not kept warm enough and a sick employee who worked a shift last Thursday.

City officials said they are still trying to determine what caused the outbreak, but the company is blaming it on norovirus.

Final test results were expected to take a couple of days. It causes as many as 21 million illnesses annually, often in places such as hospitals, cruise ships and universities where people eat and live in close quarters.

That outbreak was the company’s third food safety incident since August.

As long as new E. coli cases linked to Chipotle keep popping up, the chain’s estimated recovery time will continue to stretch farther into the future. “That said, we are in the process of implementing an enhanced food safety system nationwide that will make us the industry leader in food safety”.

Chipotle’s shares fell as much as 5.4 percent in early trading, but has since recovered some losses to trade down 2.7 percent at $536.36 in afternoon. That would mark the first decline since the company went public in 2006.