Foodborne Illness Event Update

05/10/2016 4:45 PM

This is an update on the Bradley foodborne illness event from April 29, 2016.

The Peoria City/County Health Department was notified on May 1, 2016, of a possible foodborne outbreak associated with a special event held April 29, 2016 on Bradley University’s campus. The Health Department worked with Bradley Student Health Services, Food Services, and the Mechanical Engineering Department. Interviews with staff, food servers, and multiple individuals attending the event identified no specific food item or exact cause of the illness. The case is now closed and the outbreak remains inconclusive, suggesting this was a norovirus-like illness.

This outbreak of suggested norovirus highlights the importance of food safety, hand washing, and immediate reporting of suspected foodborne illness to the local health department. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that there are more than 48 million cases of foodborne illness each year in the United States and estimates at least half of those outbreaks can be attributed to noroviruses.