On March 29, 2017, three individuals from different households ate at a restaurant in Excelsior, Minnesota. Approximately 35 hours later, two of the individuals experienced diarrhea, vomiting, cramps and fever. Neither was hospitalized. No one died. Both patrons submitted stool specimens which tested positive for GII.P16-GII.4 Sydney with identical Region BC nucleic acid sequences.

Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health (HCPH) staff interviewed the cases and selected two controls identified through credit card receipts. The small number of cases and controls precluded a meaningful statistical analysis to determine a contaminated food or beverage.

Illness histories and job duty information were obtained from all 34 restaurant employees. Four employees reported recent gastrointestinal illness. Two critical violations were observed by HCPH staff during inspection. These included employees not washing their hands when returning to the bar area and employees having bare-hand contact with drink garnishes.

While the vehicle of transmission was not identified, the most plausible explanation for this outbreak was that ready-to-eat foods were contaminated by an ill or recently ill food worker.