|
 Chipotle, already grappling with a multistate E. coli outbreak
that has battered the burrito chain's sales and stock price, has
temporarily closed the Cleveland Circle restaurant where the Boston
College students reported eating.
The students are being tested for E. coli and norovirus, which both
can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea. Those test results are not
expected for at least two days, a university spokesman said.
Chipotle on Tuesday said it would not shutter any other outlets in
the Boston area.
"The pattern here looks like norovirus isolated to one restaurant,"
Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told Reuters.
The chain has been under a microscope since Oct. 31, when it was
first linked to an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 52 people in
nine states.
 That outbreak was the company's third food safety incident since
August. It has raised concerns about potential reputational damage
to the fast-growing brand that has won a loyal following for its
food made with fresh produce, meats raised without antibiotics and
ingredients that are free of genetically modified organisms, or
GMOs.
In August, Norovirus was blamed for sickening nearly 100 people at a
Chipotle restaurant in Simi Valley, California.
Norovirus is the most common cause of foodborne-disease outbreaks in
the United States. 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.
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Norovirus can persist in an environment for up to six weeks, said
Benjamin Chapman, a food safety specialist at North Carolina State
University.
"Every time you have a vomit event, you're looking at billions of
(virus) particles, and it takes only a few to make you sick," said
Chapman, who said it was too early to say whether the students got
norovirus at Chipotle.
Stephen Anderson, an analyst at investment bank and wealth manager
Maxim Group, said the Boston illnesses are a "near-term negative
reinforcement" when viewed along with the E. coli outbreak and other
health-related issues Chipotle has dealt with since the summer.
Chipotle's shares, which closed down 1.7 percent at $542.24, moved
marginally higher in extended trading on the norovirus test results.
(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik and Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru, Lisa
Baertlein in Los Angeles and Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago;
Additional reportingt by Scott Malone; Editing by Ted Kerr, Savio
D'Souza and Bernard Orr)
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