More than 60 people got sick after eating in a kebab shop in a Swiss municipality.
The Office for Consumer Protection (AVS) closed the kebab shop in Möhlin in Aargau as a precautionary measure earlier this month due to reports of gastrointestinal diseases. The agency has since received more than 60 reports of illness.
AVS took various monsters of food in the establishment and asked for leftovers and relief samples of infected people. Laboratory analyzes detected norovirus in chair and cocktail sauce samples.
The store was temporarily closed after a visit from inspectors. AVS said that the company will remain closed until the further transmission can be excluded. Reopening is subject to conditions such as thorough cleaning, disinfection of the exhaust and an inspection.
AVS and the cantonal medical service have conducted an investigation with affected persons. The 62 responses revealed that other people with symptoms were connected to the infected individuals.
Norovirus can cause diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, stomach cramps, fever and cold shivers, with symptoms that start 12 to 48 hours after exposure and last two days or more.
To prevent the spread of the norovirus, the Federal Office of Public Health recommends good hand hygiene. Objects or surfaces that have come into contact with stools or vomit must be cleaned and disinfected. Sick people should not prepare meals for others until at least three days after the symptoms have disappeared.
Smuggled meat statistics
In other news, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (Bazg) in Switzerland has continued high marks for smuggling meat.
In 2024, Bazg identified 208 tons of meat in various operations. Meat was largely smuggled commercially in Switzerland, in an organized and coordinated way.
Bazg said the goal is to transport meat products cheaply abroad to the country without paying customs duties and importing taxes and selling them locally at Swiss prices. It often occurs in smaller shipments that have been brought to Switzerland by private vehicles or small vans, which are sometimes not handled.
Figures from the agency show that more than 500 tons of meat has been smuggled in Switzerland in the last three years with 263 tons in 2023 and 120 tons in 2022. Serious violations can wear heavy fines and prison sentences, or result in removal from the country if the people involved are in strange subjects.
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