By Diane Smith

Record-Courier staff writer

At least 34 people, most of them Kent State University students, were sickened apparently after eating at the Chipotle restaurant in Kent this week.

The eatery, located on East Main Street near the KSU campus, seems to be the common link among people who sought treatment for severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhea Thursday night and Friday morning.

The restaurant was temporarily closed Friday while employees cleaned the building and discarded leftover food.

Jennifer Farquhar, spokeswoman for Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna, said 17 patients were treated and released with "classic food poisoning symptoms," including nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

"They were given fluids and medication, and released after they felt well enough," she said.

Nobody was admitted to the hospital, said Robert Walker, EMS Coordinator at Robinson.

The hospital loaned supplies to Kent State University's DeWeese Health Center, where another 19 people sought treatment Friday. The group included some who had already been treated at the hospital and were seeking follow-up treatment.

Kelly Engelhart, director of nursing for the Portage County Health Department that does inspections for the city, said it's impossible to know at this point what exactly made the students sick.

The eatery allows patrons to choose which combination of rice, beans, meat, salsas, dairy products and vegetables they want on their burritos.

"They were eating Mexican food, including burritos and burrito bowls," she said. "When you pile all those ingredients in, it's impossible to know which one might be the problem."

This week, students who donated blood at a blood drive were rewarded with coupons for a free burrito at Chipotle. It is impossible to know how many of the sickened students were redeeming the coupons, Kent Health Commissioner John Ferlito said.

"Chipotle tells us they serve 800 people a day," he said, adding that only 34 of those people were apparently ill.

Most of the illness seems to occur 24 to 27 hours they ate at the restaurant, Engelhart said, and symptoms varied in severity. The first person to come in for treatment arrived at the hospital at 10 p.m. Thursday, and the earliest time one of the victims ate food at Chipotle was Tuesday. Most of the victims ate at the restaurant on Wednesday.

Other area hospitals and health departments have been notified of the outbreak.

The group of people who were affected included at least two Chipotle employees who had eaten there and one person who was neither a student nor a restaurant worker.

Ferlito was notified of the problem Friday morning.

Food samples, as well as stool samples from people who were ill, have been sent to the Ohio Department of Health's lab for analysis.

Ferlito said he inspected the restaurant Friday morning, and found no apparent violations in the way food was stored or handled. The restaurant was inspected last month.

"We were notified (Friday) morning by the Kent Health Department that some Kent State University students had become ill who recently visited the (Kent) restaurant," Chris Arnold, spokesman for Chipotle, said in a statement. "A follow up inspection conducted by the health department (that) morning found that the restaurant met or exceeded all health department requirements. We voluntarily closed our restaurant to do a preventive sanitation, and will continue to assist the health department as it continues its investigation."

Restaurant management told Ferlito they would call him in for another inspection when the cleaning is done and reopen at that time. No time frame for the clean-up was available.

A sign on the door at the Kent Chipotle on Friday afternoon said "For operational reasons we are temporarily closed. Sorry for the inconvenience." It directed customers to the next closest Chipotle restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls.

Workers were seen cleaning inside the building.

Disappointed customers pulled up in their cars or walked up on foot only to find out from passers-by or employees that the restaurant was temporarily closed.

Staff writers Colin McEwen and David O'Brien contributed to this story.