At least 26 players and 3 coaches from the Chatfield High School football team became ill with apparent food poisoning after traveling to Fort Collins, Colorado, for a game last Saturday.  The team ate two meals together before playing in a playoff game, and coaches believe one of the two meals was probably the source of illness.  Lane Lyon from the Denver Channel wrote:

The Jefferson County Department of Public Health has yet to determine the source of the contamination. A spokesperson said Monday that tests are being run and both restaurants investigated. Neither the school district, nor health officials identified the businesses where the Chatfield team ate meals.

The school district believes the illness is isolated to the team.

Food poisoning can be caused by a variety of microbes such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. Harmful toxins or chemicals present in food also may cause foodborne illness.

Different causes of food poisoning cause different symptoms, so there is no one syndrome that is foodborne illness; however, common symptoms include abdominal cramping, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, fever, headache, fatigue, and body aches.

Generally, after contaminated food is consumed there is a delay before food poisoning symptoms start. This delay is called the “incubation period”. The incubation period of a foodborne illness can range from less than an hour (which is rare) to days or weeks, and depends on the organism causing the illness and the amount ingested.