CONOVER —
So far 128 people have reported that they got violently ill following a meal at the Harbor Inn Seafood restaurant in Conover. the majority of the complaints came from people who had eaten at the restaurant on Jan. 13 and 14. the latest date associated with illness is Jan. 20
Catawba County Public Health has been working with the North Carolina Division of Public Health to figure out what’s been making people sick since the first cases were reported on Jan. 17.
On Friday, the county announced its findings: Norovirus is behind the illnesses.
“Norovirus, often called the ‘stomach bug,’ food poisoning or viral gastroenteritis, is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States,” according to the department’s release.
Although Public Health has not announced what food or foods caused the illness, victims have stated that the members of their party who got sick after eating at Harbor Inn were the ones that ate tossed salad.
The symptoms associated with the Harbor Inn outbreak are intense nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. the onset came within 12 to 24 hours following their meal and lasted from 24 to 36 hours for most of the victims, according to reports from Catawba County Public Health.
None of the victims required hospitalization.
Harbor Inn’s owner, George Ziogas, said he’s spoken to four of the people who got ill following a meal at his restaurant. He’s assured them that he and his staff follow safe food handling practices and there’s never been a problem like this at his restaurant before.
“We keep a clean restaurant,” he said. “We take pride in serving the people of Catawba County for the last 23 years.”
Ziogas said the recent outbreak of sickness has had little impact on his business.
“Very little, because I have a lot of loyal customers that believe in me,” he said. “I want to thank all of my regular customers – especially the ones that have been supporting me the last week with all the news and everything that’s been going on.”
Following the initial report of illness, Catawba County Public Health’s Environmental Health specialists conducted a thorough inspection of the restaurant and found no violations. They are monitoring the situation daily and providing additional safe foodservice education to the restaurant’s staff. Harbor Inn employees are also following a recommended, extra-stringent sanitation guidelines.
Recent inspection results have given Harbor Inn consistently high marks.
The most recent inspection came on Dec. 29, and Harbor Inn got an A with a score of 99.5. three months earlier, the restaurant scored 99.5. in June, Harbor Inn earned a 100.5.
Public Health is focused on making sure similar outbreaks don’t happen again.
“Catawba County Public Health is continuing to work closely with Harbor Inn to help prevent further illness,” said Doug Urland, health director of Catawba County Public Health, in a media release. “Because norovirus is such a common illness, especially during this time of year, we encourage everyone to help prevent the spread of infection by washing their hands often and staying home when sick.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), norovirus is a common, easily-transmissible and highly contagious illness that can cause vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain. Symptoms usually resolve themselves within one to two days, but the virus may be detectable in stool for a longer period of time. no specific drug is used to treat norovirus.