Norovirus likely sickened Chipotle customers in Boston

The commission also said some non-Boston College patrons of the restaurant had reported symptoms as well.

It is the latest black mark on the Mexican food giant, which has battled an E. coli epidemic that has sickened 52 people across nine states since October.

The sick students included at least eight members of the men’s basketball team, school authorities said.

Boston College said 80 people fell ill after eating at the fast-food location in Cleveland Circle, but the Boston Public Health Commission later said 65 cases have been reported.

Passers-by walk near a closed Chipotle restaurant on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in the Cleveland Circle neighborhood of Boston.

William Christopher, commissioner of the department, said at a briefing Tuesday that it was not immediately known if the restaurant’s management was aware of the employee’s symptoms.

“In preparation to reopen, we are conducting a full sanitization procedure, surveying our employees to be sure none are sick (as a matter of policy, any sick employees will be held out of work until they are healthy and cleared to return), and working with health officials while they conduct their review of this”, Arnold told the Boston Globe. He said the restaurant’s permit to operate has been suspended by the city and that a disinfection process has begun. The virus is very contagious and can spread quickly in places such as daycare centers and cruise ships, the agency says. Each year, norovirus causes 19 million to 21 million illnesses.

Common symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain.

The states with reported cases are California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

In response to the alleged Chipotle-linked outbreaks, affecting more than 50 people in nine states (not including the recent news in Boston), Chipotle “is aggressively taking actions to implement industry leading food safety and food handling practices in all of its restaurants and throughout its supply chain”, according to a statement on its website most recently updated on December 5.

Chipotle’s stock edged lower in midday trading Tuesday as the Mexican food chain continues to deal with fallout from an E. coli outbreak and contends with weakening sales. Shares of the company, which went public in 2006, have fallen by 30 percent since the outbreak. The stock is down almost 25 percent in the quarter to date.