Norovirus confirmed as cause of outbreak at Log Jam; 42 people sickened

GRAND LEDGE - Test results have confirmed that an outbreak of the norovirus infection sickened dozens of people who ate at the Log Jam restaurant in downtown Grand Ledge earlier this month.

Abigail Lynch, a spokesperson for the Barry-Eaton County Health Department, said Thursday morning that three samples taken from the West Jefferson Street eatery all tested positive for the virus, which causes diarrhea, nausea, stomach cramps and vomiting.

A total of 42 people have reported falling ill after eating at the Log Jam on either Nov. 19 or Nov. 25, Lynch said.

No one has reported falling ill after the restaurant was closed for a day Nov. 27 for a cleaning that was supervised by health department staff, Lynch said. The closure came six days after the first reports of illness were made to the health department.

The first eight reports of illness prompted restaurant staff to clean the restaurant's interior with bleach and to throw out all its prepared food, Lynch said Wednesday, but more than 30 reports followed, between Nov. 22 and Nov. 27.

The Nov. 22 reports did not prompt the restaurant to close or for the health department to issue a public statement about the suspected outbreak, Lynch said, because the health department didn't believe there was "an ongoing threat to public health."

During the restaurant's Nov. 27 closure all of the restaurant's prepared foods were thrown out and employees were informed again about the importance of hand washing, Lynch said. It reopened the next day.

A person who answered the phone at The Log Jam Wednesday morning declined to comment on the suspected outbreak and referred all questions to the health department.

A Nov. 27 post on The Log Jam's Facebook page reads, "It seems that there has been an outbreak of a viral gastroenteritis in the community. We have consulted with the health department and they confirmed that this very contagious virus has made some people very ill in our town...Since our water heater went up in flames, and we had to close for repairs, we took full advantage of our down time to disinfect every square inch of our facility."

About 34 turkeys served at the annual free community Thanksgiving meal in Grand Ledge were cooked in the restaurant's ovens Nov. 23, said organizer Christine Richardson-Beagle, but the turkeys were prepped and put into oven bags off-site at the Masonic Temple. None of the restaurant's staff touched the turkeys, she said Wednesday, and no one who ate the meal has reported falling ill.

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Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.