Buffalo Wild Wings falls 6% after being linked to a norovirus outbreak in Kansas
Shares of Buffalo Wild Wings are sliding after reports of a norovirus outbreak in Overland Park, Kansas have prompted the closing and "deep cleaning" of a restaurant.
According to KMBC 9 Kansas City, 10 people fell ill after eating at the restaurant and the location was closed over the weekend for a deep cleaning.
The same report said that local health officials have not been able to find the source of the outbreak, but a restaurant 2 miles experienced a similar outbreak that infected over 200 people last month.
Norovirus is highly contagious and causes symptoms like stomach aches, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. According to the CDC, it is the leading cause of food-borne illnesses in the US with more than 21 million cases annually.
Shares of Buffalo Wild Wings fell more than 7% within the first 20 minutes of trading Tuesday. Near 10:30 a.m. ET the stock was off about 6%. This year shares of the company are down about 11%.
Buffalo Wild Wings is set to report quarterly earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday.
This incident is reminiscent of a norovirus outbreak at a Boston-area Chipotle in December that left over 120 people sick.
Chipotle also dealt with an E. coli outbreak during the fall and on Tuesday reported one of the worst quarters in its company's history.