Norovirus confirmed in PA university outbreak

There’s a lot of norovirus on campuses this time of year. A bunch of Virginia colleges dealt with the pathogen a couple of weeks ago, and it looks like N.C. State did too. According to mcall.com, the virus caused over 150 illnesses at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania.

The vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain that affected 154 students at East Stroudsburg University last week was the result of a highly contagious virus, the state Health Department said Thursday.

The Department of Health has determined that there is now enough accumulated evidence to say the recent ESU outbreak is due to norovirus,” department spokesman Wes Culp said.

The illnesses swept through the campus so fast that doctors and medical staffs could not identify its cause with certainty, though doctors did suspect norovirus. The outbreak affected 2.5 percent of ESU students.

Here are some campus-specific food safety infosheets. Click on the pics to download.

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About Ben Chapman

Dr. Ben Chapman is a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. As a teenager, a Saturday afternoon viewing of the classic cable movie, Outbreak, sparked his interest in pathogens and public health. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements, and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers, and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, maybe not surprisingly, Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman.