Norovirus Sickens More Than 200 at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania

The college totally shut down last week.

More than 200 students, faculty members, and staff at Ursinus College have become ill due to an outbreak of Norovirus. The first reports of illness occurred last Tuesday, and the Pennsylvania school announced earlier Monday Norovirus was, in fact, the culprit. The outbreak is being connected to Ursinus's on-campus cafeteria.

A Montgomery County Health Department investigation found a number of violations at the dining hall, reports Buzz Feed, including dead bugs, pesticides near food, unclean surfaces, and improper hand-washing practices. Ursinus shut down the dining hall to allow for further investigation into the outbreak and so the facilities could be cleaned and sanitized. The school followed up by canceling Thursday and Friday classes last week.

Classes resumed as scheduled Monday morning, and Julie Paoline, division director of Communicable Disease Control Montgomery County Health Department, said Ursinus was on the road to recovery.

"At this time, the Health Department believes that Ursinus College administration and its staff have done everything they can do in terms of focusing on monitoring illness, promoting hand hygiene, conducting environmental disinfection, and excluding ill food workers," Paoline said in a press release. "There are no additional recommendations from the department at this time. This will need to run its course."

Norovirus is the most common cause of foodborne illness in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control, affecting 19 to 21 million people each year. It's caused big headaches for major food brands such as Chipotle, which dealt with outbreaks linked to locations in California and Massachusetts last year. The company is facing a criminal investigation and class action lawsuit as a result of the public health disasters.

from Eater - All http://ift.tt/1VhXujI
via IFTTT