MANCHESTER, NH — The Sunday before Thanksgiving, about four dozen people, including 18 children — six under the age of 3 — attended a private pre-holiday party at the Puritan Conference & Event Center.
Soon after the feast at the restaurant co-owned by the family of U.S. Congressman Chris Pappas, 18 became sickened with norovirus. Waitstaff became ill as well, according to the environmental investigation conducted three days after the party by the Manchester Health Department at the request of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NH-DHHS).
One person died.
“We are aware of one person who attended an event at the Puritan and later died,” said Jake Leon, communications director at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NH-DHHS). “We express our sympathy to this person’s family and friends.”
He said, however, that health officials do not know if the individual’s death is related to the outbreak.
“Because norovirus is so transmissible, it can be difficult to determine what may have been the source of these illnesses,” he said. “It is very common in winter months, as we typically see between 50-75 norovirus outbreaks in New Hampshire each year. It is spread by having direct contact with an infected person, from eating or drinking contaminated food or water, or touching contaminated surfaces and then putting your unwashed hands in your mouth.”
Neither the city nor state health departments issued a news release concerning the incident. In early December, WMUR ran a brief report about an incident at a city restaurant but did not identify the establishment by name.
City and state officials both said that since an environmental investigation of the restaurant by city health officials did not identify any critical item violations, it was determined there was no risk of imminent danger to the public and, therefore, no need to inform the public.
Alexakos said a “critical item violation” is one that is known to increase the risk of foodborne illness.
Leon said since norovirus was not detected at the restaurant upon inspection, there was no specific ongoing risk to the public from the establishment.
“We inform the public if there is an ongoing risk to the public’s health in order to ensure there are no additional illnesses,” he said. “Based on the inspection conducted in late November, there is no specific ongoing norovirus risk to the public from this establishment. The Department always seeks to protect the public’s health during an outbreak and informs the public if there is a potential risk that more people could become ill as a result of an outbreak.”
The city conducted an environmental investigation of the restaurant on Nov. 27 at the state’s request. Aaron Krycki, the city’s environmental health supervisor, noted in his report that no employees were ill in the two weeks preceding the event but that waitstaff did become ill afterward. No employees were tested. for the virus.
“We reviewed the foods served at the event in question and there were no leftover material and/or items of the same batch, that might be a potential risk to the public if used,” Alexakos said. “We also reviewed their employee wellness protocol (included in their employee handbook). As a result of this assessment and in consultation with the NH DHHS, it was determined that there was no imminent hazard to the public and thus no public notification. Had there been an imminent hazard, immediate action would have been taken.”
The menu that Sunday included warms rolls, pita and butter; Greek salad with dressing on the side; pasta salad; fried chicken tenders; macaroni and cheese; homemade mashed potatoes; green beans; a cake with “Happy Thanksgiving” written on it in orange icing; and homemade ice cream. The party started at noon and ended about 2:30 p.m.
The food was prepared in the restaurant’s kitchen, not the event center, and was not part of the general restaurant offerings.
Eric Zink, co-owner and manager of the restaurant, said the health department informed him 18 guests later became ill.
“Of the 46 guests (the city health department’s report lists 43 guests), that attended the event, the health department told us 18 guests later became ill, including one guest who sadly passed away from unidentified causes,” Zink said. “We have communicated our condolences to the family and we express our deepest sympathies in this difficult time.”
He said the city health inspection did not identify any public health concerns.
He said the state send him its conclusions in an email which said: “Outbreak of norovirus due to indeterminate transmission — no ill food handlers or attendees at the time of the event, and no statistically significant food items were identified.”
He said the expertise and insight provided by the city health department, along with that of NH-DHHS, the Health Department has provided, “is so crucial to evaluate information and ensure best practices. The Puritan is confident that we are doing everything we can to maintain those safe and best practices every day. We will continue to work with public health officials and thank them for their diligent response.”
The Puritan restaurant was inspected on Jan. 29, 2019 when it scored an 84. That inspection found critical violation involving employees touching ready-to-eat foods with their bare hands; hygienic practices of personnel and sanitization rinse was not maintained at the proper concentration level. Two days later, a reinspection found violations had been fixed and the Puritan passed inspection. On Feb. 1 the Puritan Event Center was inspected and scored a 98. They were two separate inspections.
NH-DHHS officials said the most common symptoms of norovirus are diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and stomach pain. There is no specific treatment for norovirus and most people with norovirus illness get better within 1 to 3 days. However, the virus can make people feel extremely ill and cause them to vomit or have diarrhea many times a day. This can lead to dehydration, especially in young children, older adults and people with other illnesses.
People can protect themselves and others from norovirus by:
- Washing hands thoroughly with soap and water especially after using the toilet or changing diapers, before eating, preparing or handling food, and before giving yourself or someone else medicine.
- Not preparing food for others or providing healthcare while sick and for at least 2 days after symptoms stop.
- Staying home from school, work and other events when sick
- Cleaning and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces in the home and office, especially areas after someone vomits or has diarrhea
Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect that there were two separate inspections, of the restaurant and event center, and after reinspection, the restaurant was found to have corrected the critical violations and passed inspection.
