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Number Of MSU Students Sick Could Top 50
Source
of Article: http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=10117239&nav=5D7v
Posted: April
2, 2009 06:30 AM PDT
Student: "A lot of
people were like vomiting uncontrollably and really light headed."
A mystery illness spreads
through MSU, making dozens of students sick.
The illness sent 20
students to the hospital, and today another 30 reported similar symptoms.
It all started when
several students at Shaw Hall started vomiting.
At this point, officials
believe the outbreak originated in that dorm.
Alison Himelhoch caught
up with some of the infected students to find out what they think caused
the illness.
Ravi Shah is taking it
easy after a hard night and a bad day.
Ravi Shah, Sick MSU
Student: "At about 8:30 yesterday my stomach started aching and maybe
I thought it was just like a simple stomach ache."
But when he got back to
his dorm, Shaw Hall, he realized he was wrong.
Ravi Shah, Sick MSU
Student: "I came back, I'm walking down the stairs and I could feel
like starting to throw up, so I went to go throw up in the bathroom
around 11 and then from there it just went down the hall."
Many of his hall mates
started throwing up too.
So at 2:30 in the morning
an ambulance came and took them all to Sparrow Hospital.
Ravi Shah, Sick MSU
Student: "It was like 10 of us initially, then more just kept on
trickling in."
Sam Waters, Sick MSU
Student: "I got sick just this morning. I just had some nausea,
dizziness, vomiting and like really watery diarrhea."
The sick students say
they don't know for sure what caused the outbreak. But they've been told it
came from something they ate in the cafeteria. And the Shaw Hall cafeteria
is now closed.
Sam Waters, Sick MSU
Student: "They obviously think it was in the food because they
questioned me a lot about what I ate the night before, morning, even the
day before."
So what could this
illness be?
Ravi Shah, Sick MSU
Student: "I overheard from one of the nurses and they think it's
norovirus."
Sam Waters, Sick MSU
Student: "A lot of people think it's norovirus because it has exactly
the same symptoms."
Symptoms that are still
sprouting up in Shaw Hall.
Sam Waters, Sick MSU
Student: "Just like an hour or two ago someone else got sick, started
throwing up."
Ravi Shah, Sick MSU
Student: "It's probably still there just watch out."
The Ingham County Health
Department says nearly 30 students went to the hospital, all with the same
symptoms.
Another 27 went to Olin
Health Center, but officials don't know if they have the same illness.
The county medical
examiner says they haven't narrowed the outbreak down to norovirus, but it
is a possiblity.
Dr. Dean Sienko, Ingham
County Health Department: "It could be a food bourne it could be other
things as well. We're early in the investigation, and as we continue to
conduct our analysis, we do have a clearer picture of why this began and
how it spread."
The health department is
expecting lab results soon and hope they will provide more information
about the illness.
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