One week later, what sickened 76 at Charlotte restaurant remains a mystery

CHARLOTTE - A week after officials closed a Charlotte eatery because patrons were getting ill, experts still don't know what caused the outbreak.

And it's possible they may never be able to pinpoint what made people sick after eating at Tequila's Mexican Grill, a health official said Tuesday.

"We don't think it was a virus, which is a little bit unusual," said Anne Barna, a spokeswoman for the Barry-Eaton District Health Department.

"We've sent out samples to be tested, and, based on those results, we may or may not be able to tell. We're also looking at the pattern of illness, as well, When we just have people's recollections to go off of, quite often we can't say with certainty."

As of Tuesday, 76 people had reported falling ill after visiting the eatery on North Cochran Avenue, the health department said. The frequency of those reports was tapering off considerably from last week, it said.

The health department ordered the business closed on the evening of Tuesday, June 18, after 10 patrons reported feeling sick.

On Wednesday morning, health department staff supervised a cleaning of the restaurant's kitchen and dining room, and ready-to-eat food was tossed out. The agency cleared the business to reopen just after noon that day but said it was still investigating the outbreak.

By Thursday, the health department said 39 people had reported feeling ill after eating at the restaurant. The agency closed it again on Friday morning after additional testing eliminated norovirus as a possible cause and inspectors found additional violations involving food handling.

Health department staff found "a number" of health code violations that mostly had to do with food-storage practices, Barna said.

Officials said they would continue working with restaurant staff to make sure they are meeting food-handling standards. The agency also said it was scheduling future training on health, hygiene and food handling for the restaurant's employees.

Symptoms have included nausea, abdominal cramping, vomiting and diarrhea, the health department said. Officials said they are confident that norovirus did not cause the outbreak.

Barna said her agency, which covers two counties, sees an outbreak of food-borne illness once every one to two years, on average. Usually, it's norovirus, she said.

"In the last 15 years, most of what we're seeing is norovirus," she said. "But that's not the only thing that can cause food-borne illness."

The department is working with state health officials to test food and stool samples, she said. It was unclear how long the testing will take or how long the restaurant would remain closed, she said.

More:Tequila's Mexican Grill closed again while health department investigates illnesses

More:Health department: Nearly 40 reports of illness connected to Charlotte eatery

The heath department inspects restaurants twice a year.

Records from the most recent inspection of Tequila’s Mexican Grill in April indicated several food safety violations that were then corrected, the agency said. 

Violations included food found cooling at an unsafe temperature, the use of improper methods to cool foods, the storage of raw meat next to or above foods that were ready to eat and food being stored at improper temperatures.

Anyone who has questions about the outbreak or wants to report becoming ill after eating at the restaurant can call the Barry-Eaton District Health Department’s Environmental Health Division at (517) 541-2615.

Contact Ken Palmer at (517) 377-1032 or kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.