Spring Break
Thirty Students Treated For Contagious Virus
No Outbreak Reported On Campus, UConn Works To Stop Further Contamination
Kate King
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: News
Thirty UConn students have been treated at UConn Health Services after contracting norovirus at a sorority formal held at The Adam's Mill, a Manchester restaurant, Saturday night.
The Manchester Health Department confirmed Thursday through lab analysis that the norovirus was the cause of the student's illness, according to Rob Miller, director of Eastern Highlands Health District, which is working closely on the issue with the Manchester Health Department.
Norovirus is a highly contagious gastrointestinal virus that causes flu-like symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control Web site.
All the UConn students that have been treated at Student Health Services (SHS) contracted the virus at the formal, according to Mike Kurland, director of SHS. While there has not been an outbreak at the university, officials are taking steps to curtail the spread of the virus on campus.
Norovirus is "a highly transmittable virus and so we would expect that more people would catch it," Kurland said. "We are trying to minimize that number."
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Web site, norovirus can be contracted from foods or liquids contaminated with the virus, by touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then placing the hand in the mouth and through direct contact with an infected person.
The university is cleaning residential and academic buildings, bathrooms and dining areas with a bleach-based household cleaner in an attempt to eliminate the virus, according to Karen Grava, UConn director of media communications. Normally, the university uses non-bleach-based cleaners, which are better for the environment but not always effective at killing the norovirus.
"We always clean, but now we're using something that we know will work against this particular virus," Grava said.
In order to prevent the spread of the norovirus through food, UConn Dining Services has also adopted a policy, as of Thursday afternoon, to prevent employees who might have norovirus from handling campus food, Kurland said. All Dining Services employees are questioned immediately upon arriving at work to see if they have any symptoms of the virus. If they do, they will be sent home and instructed not to return to work until 72 hours after their symptoms are gone.
The Manchester Health Department confirmed Thursday through lab analysis that the norovirus was the cause of the student's illness, according to Rob Miller, director of Eastern Highlands Health District, which is working closely on the issue with the Manchester Health Department.
Norovirus is a highly contagious gastrointestinal virus that causes flu-like symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control Web site.
All the UConn students that have been treated at Student Health Services (SHS) contracted the virus at the formal, according to Mike Kurland, director of SHS. While there has not been an outbreak at the university, officials are taking steps to curtail the spread of the virus on campus.
Norovirus is "a highly transmittable virus and so we would expect that more people would catch it," Kurland said. "We are trying to minimize that number."
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Web site, norovirus can be contracted from foods or liquids contaminated with the virus, by touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then placing the hand in the mouth and through direct contact with an infected person.
The university is cleaning residential and academic buildings, bathrooms and dining areas with a bleach-based household cleaner in an attempt to eliminate the virus, according to Karen Grava, UConn director of media communications. Normally, the university uses non-bleach-based cleaners, which are better for the environment but not always effective at killing the norovirus.
"We always clean, but now we're using something that we know will work against this particular virus," Grava said.
In order to prevent the spread of the norovirus through food, UConn Dining Services has also adopted a policy, as of Thursday afternoon, to prevent employees who might have norovirus from handling campus food, Kurland said. All Dining Services employees are questioned immediately upon arriving at work to see if they have any symptoms of the virus. If they do, they will be sent home and instructed not to return to work until 72 hours after their symptoms are gone.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Tony
posted 4/05/08 @ 5:26 PM EST
I have one question - why are antibiotics being used to control a virus? Antibiotics do not combat viruses....only bacterial infections can be remedied using this manner. (Continued…)
Fred Leverpole
posted 4/07/08 @ 12:56 PM EST
shhhhh...its a soritory...how are they suppose to know that.
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