COLLEGEVILLE >> The total number of Ursinus College students sickened by the illness that swept across campus reached 192 as of Friday Feb. 12.
But the sickness may be dwindling, according to some Ursinus health officials.
According to a release from Ursinus:
“As of Friday morning at 9:45 a.m., 7 new students reported symptoms of stomach infection overnight. No one was taken to the emergency room. Since Tuesday afternoon, a total of 192 students have reported symptoms related to stomach illness to the college’s Wellness Center or Campus Safety Office. Only a handful of faculty and staff have reported symptoms. Symptoms of the illness appear to abate after 12-24 hours.”
Symptoms of the infection include nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.
A small fraction of students have reportedly been dehydrated to the point where needed to go to an emergency room or urgent care center, said Paul Doghramji, medical director of health services at the wellness center at Ursinus on Thursday. A total of 26 students were taken to the hospital.
In his 21 years working on campus, Doghramji said he has never seen an infection this bad before, but the numbers are beginning to come down. He saw about 50 patients Wednesday morning but only 20 patients Thursday morning. Doctors have been giving anti-nausea and antidiarrheal medication to help treat the infection and help students rehydrate themselves.
As a precaution, the school cancelled classes for Thursday and Friday in addition to shutting down the dining hall and other areas of the school for cleaning and sanitation. Ursinus also cancelled all weekend activities.
“This has been a remarkably unusual last few days for our campus because so many have been impacted by the illness. This has been a particularly trying time, but we’ve made significant progress the past two days as we focused on the well-being of our faculty, staff and students,” said Ursinus College President Brock Blomberg.
On Thursday, area businesses including Wawa, Wegmans, the Collegeville Italian Bakery, The Pizza Stop, Rocco’s, Franco’s Pizza Family Restaurant and Marzella’s Pizzeria stepped up to provide students with meals while the dining hall was shut down, a response that Blomberg said was much appreciated.
“I have been so impressed with our students and the resiliency they have shown during the past several challenging days. Ursinus can be proud of the staff and faculty volunteers that have allowed the college to run smoothly under such uncertainty,” said Blomberg in a message on the college’s website. “Finally, I really appreciate the local community that has been supportive by donating time, food and their energy that has allowed us to sustain ourselves.”
As of Friday, Wismer dining hall reopened for normal hours after county health inspectors gave it “a clean bill of health.”
In the meantime, the college is still working to clean the school and find out where the illness began.
“The college continues to collaborate with the Montgomery County Health Department to identify the illness and determine the cause. MCHD says testing results could take up to a week,” said a press release from Ursinus.
The alumni recommitment ceremony scheduled for Saturday has been postponed and classes are expected to resume Monday.
Digital First Media reporter Eric Devlin contributed to this report.