You Want Virus With That?
Jan 29, 2009, by | Read more: News
Norovirus outbreak at UCSC possibly linked to bad hygiene
What several UCSC students thought was an old-fashioned case of cafeteria food gone bad may have actually been a case of student hygiene gone worse. A recent outbreak of norovirus on campus caused a reported 58 students and staff members to come down with the crippling stomach flu. Two were hospitalized.
Some students, like Zack Mikalonis, initially suspected nasty meatball subs as the culprit.
On the afternoon of Jan. 15, Mikalonis ate at UCSC’s Porter Dining Hall. Though he says he’s learned to steer clear of burritos, sub sandwiches are fair game. But less than 24 hours after chowing down on the hero, he found himself face down in a toilet bowl.
“I woke up around 4:30am throwing up and having horrible diarrhea,” he says. “A bunch of other kids on my floor got sick too. I had a big quiz the next day that I had to miss.”
Mikalonis figured it was the sandwich, but a county health official says this virus came from bad hands rather than bad meat.
“Our tests concluded that this was not a point source outbreak,” says Jessica Oltmanns, an epidemiologist with the Santa Cruz County Health Department. “The people affected by the virus were spread throughout campus, and in the end we couldn’t pinpoint where the outbreak occurred. This virus is most often spread by fecal mater and vomitus. It was not food poisoning.”
Mikalonis says he notified the school’s health department and was satisfied with its response when an email went out to all students urging them to practice good hand washing techniques and to report any symptoms to the Campus Health Center.
Though it’s impossible to know where the problem originated, university spokesman Jim Burns says the school’s health department officials hold their food service employees to the highest standards of personal hygiene.
Norovirus is a virus that causes 90 percent of gastroenteritis, or stomach flu, outbreaks around the world, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It’s passed from person to person by exposure to feces, vomit, blood and saliva and is common in confined living spaces such as dorms, prisons and hospitals. Burns says cafeteria workers completed a thorough bleach cleansing of cafeteria utensils and surfaces and served cafeteria food at areas that are normally self-service while the investigation was underway, thereby prohibiting the spread of germs via tongs and serving spoons. But as far as protecting themselves against future outbreaks, Oltmann says that’s up to the students.
“The best thing students can do is practice proper hand washing, especially after using the bathroom and before they stick their hands in their mouth,” she says. “This virus can spread very quickly, so it’s important to stay clean.”
- Curtis Cartier
