By Susan Kinzie
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 3, 2008

A highly contagious norovirus was responsible for sickening more than 170 Georgetown University students in recent days, said officials who were working hard yesterday to contain the bug and limit its spread.

The norovirus left students nauseated, vomiting and dehydrated. Almost all of them were treated at hospitals and released, but one student was admitted for observation. The virus can cause stomach cramping, fever, headaches and diarrhea, but the quick-onset illness typically lasts only a day or two, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The virus is self-limiting, said Pierre Vigilance, director of the D.C. Department of Health. "For most people, this is not a major problem." That is especially true for healthy, college-age students; it would be of much greater concern among a population of elderly, very young or immune-compromised people, he said.

But the virus -- actually a group of viruses -- spreads easily and swiftly through direct contact with an infected person or with contaminated food, drink or objects. In recent years, there have been outbreaks on cruise ships and in hotels.

On campus, many students were left on edge with so many of their friends brought down in recent days.

"People are really panicked," said Vanessa Raddelmiller, a sophomore from Georgia, who said students were instant-messaging and texting each other during the lecture in her class yesterday afternoon. Some students talked about getting off campus, and some were angry about the situation, she said. "I kind of thought people were overreacting. People were going to the hospital, but it's just like the flu -- it'll be okay in the end."

Georgetown President John J. DeGioia said school officials are scouring such high-contact areas as bathrooms, doorknobs and handrails; cleaning more intensively than usual across campus; and going through dorms to find students who might not be feeling well. They held a forum yesterday afternoon to explain the situation to students, emphasizing the importance of prevention, particularly hand-washing and cleanliness, and set up a hotline for parents.

"Our job now is to continue to treat the sick and, most importantly, to prevent the spread of the illness," said James C. Welsh, assistant vice president for student health. "Hand-washing is going to be our mantra."

Vigilance praised the university's swift and cooperative response; some institutions in the past have been more reluctant to shut down operations.

The campus dining hall, which college administrators closed before dawn Wednesday when alerted to the first wave of sick students, reopened last night after being inspected and sanitized.

Many of the sick students had eaten there, but public health officials are still investigating the source of the virus. Vigilance said they are waiting for results from food samples. He said it appears that the virus was initially transmitted by a person, although it is possible it is from food.

Aramark is the food contractor for the dining hall. An Aramark spokesman declined to comment last night.

There is no cure for the virus. Patients sometimes need to be given fluids intravenously -- as many students were -- to combat the dehydration caused by frequent vomiting and diarrhea.

Junior Kevin Wessel, who knows three people who have gotten sick, said he was concerned about the possibility he could become ill. "I'll definitely be washing my hands before I eat and taking all the precautions," he said.

Wessel said he has noticed lots of not-so-clean plates at the dining hall, "which never filled me with confidence about the overall cleanliness there." The school has done a good job of alerting students, he said, "even though it could make them look bad, instead of hiding it. We'll see what they do to prevent it, to keep us safe."

Vigilance said there have been no reports of similar cases elsewhere in the region, although the CDC will continue to monitor for that. While explaining the virus yesterday, he had to pause to cough. "I hope I'm not coming down with anything," he joked.