Norovirus found after illness at Elgin golf outing

Two members of an outing who became ill after eating at an Elgin golf course restaurant were infected with norovirus, a health official said Wednesday.

A total of 21 people had reported stomach and other distress symptoms after eating at the Grumpy Goat Tavern during a June 5 golf outing at The Highlands of Elgin, said Brad Bohner, public health coordinator for the city of Elgin.

But the source of the virus may never be known, he said.

"We don't know, and we probably will never know, if it was the staff at the Grumpy Goat, if it was a patron in that group that came in or if it was someone who came in earlier that day," Bohner said. "We can't even pinpoint if it came from the Grumpy Goat at all."

Two people submitted stool samples to the Kane County Health Department, and both tested positive for norovirus, Bohner said, adding he got the information Tuesday morning from Kane County. "That appears to be the causative agent," he said, adding the county interviewed 31 people overall.

Norovirus is transmitted from person to person, which can happen via direct contact such as handshakes or through contaminated surfaces such as doorknobs or food, Bohner said.

Both the city and county health department are closing their investigations, he said.

County health officials didn't immediately return a request for comment.

Norovirus is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the U.S., causing 19 million to 21 million illnesses per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common symptoms of norovirus are diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain. Other symptoms are fever, headache and body aches.

The sick people reported suffering symptoms starting June 6, and no additional illnesses were reported after June 9, the day someone contacted the city of Elgin's health department to report the situation, he said.

Bohner said he was told by Grumpy Goat owner Greg Shannon and the restaurant's manager that no employees reported being ill during that period. "It appears to be a limited outbreak of 21 people, and we haven't had any secondary cases," he said.

Shannon declined to comment Tuesday afternoon. The restaurant, which is on the city-owned golf course, opened under new ownership in April.

After the initial complaint, the city's health department inspected the restaurant - including refrigerators, freezers, hot-holding units, the dishwasher, sinks and cleaning solution - and found everything was sanitized and functioning properly, officials said. No leftover food from the restaurant's buffet was available for testing.