Number of illnesses continues to rise at university; officials say food is likely cause

Officials at Georgetown University are continuing to monitor a cluster of illnesses that include symptoms consistent with food poisoning.

As of Sept. 24, the university was reporting illnesses of 62 students, staff, and “community members.” On Sept. 21 the school officials said 12 students had reported symptoms. No one has required hospitalization, but some people have received hydration treatments.

“As of 10 a.m. this morning, (Washington) D.C. Health has collected 62 surveys from students and community members reporting symptoms,” according to a statement from the university.

Symptoms reported include severe stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which are commonly associated with Salmonella, norovirus, and other foodborne pathogens.

“We continue to coordinate with DC Health to ensure the safety of our community and to investigate the source of the illness. At this time, we have not identified a common food source among impacted individuals, which includes students and staff living both on- and off-campus. We are continuing our increased cleaning and disinfection of high-touch areas in residence halls and dining spaces,” according to the university statement.

On Sept. 22 the school reported it had removed pre-packaged and pre-washed food items that are commonly associated with foodborne illnesses from its dining facilities and continued additional cleaning and disinfection of residence halls and dining areas.

University officials say the symptoms presented by the sick people are not those of COVID-19 patients and that it is believed that the illnesses are from an infectious organism.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)

Note: This article have been indexed to our site. We do not claim ownership or copyright of any of the content above. To see the article at original source Click Here

Related Posts
Pandemic Pot Use Proliferated in Pregnant Women thumbnail

Pandemic Pot Use Proliferated in Pregnant Women

More pregnant women used cannabis in the early stages of pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic than prior to it, researchers found. Based on urine tests performed at about 8 weeks' gestation, the standardized rate of prenatal cannabis use was 8.14% (95% CI 7.85-8.43%) for pregnancies from April to December 2020 compared with 6.75% (95% CI…
Read More
Transgender kids rush for care amid state bans thumbnail

Transgender kids rush for care amid state bans

Skip to main content SALT LAKE CITY — As a third grader in Utah, mandolin-playing math whiz Elle Palmer said aloud what she had only before sensed, telling a friend she planned to transfer schools the following year and hoped her new classmates would see her as a girl. Several states northeast, Asher Wilcox-Broekemeier listened
Read More
Undersized Donor Hearts; Rise of Infective Endocarditis; IABP Inventor Dies thumbnail

Undersized Donor Hearts; Rise of Infective Endocarditis; IABP Inventor Dies

Cardiology > Prevention — Recent developments of interest in cardiovascular medicine by Nicole Lou, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today December 31, 2024 Undersized donor hearts were indeed associated with more post-transplantation mortality -- but only among complex transplant recipients, a Nashville center found. (Annals of Thoracic Surgery) In Japan, the incidence of infective endocarditis increased
Read More
Expanded Entresto Label Makes 1.8 Million More HF Patients Eligible thumbnail

Expanded Entresto Label Makes 1.8 Million More HF Patients Eligible

Expanded labeling for sacubitril/valsartan (Entresto, Novartis) to include adults with chronic heart failure (HF) with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) lower than normal could increase the treatment-eligible population by up to 1.8 million and potentially prevent or postpone as many as 180,000 worsening HF events, according to a new analysis. "If prior implementation barriers to…
Read More
Index Of News