Norovirus Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Norovirus Blog

The Ottawa County Health Department has confirmed the recent illness at Hope College was caused by a norovirus.

Officials say there were 518 reported cases among students, faculty and staff since November 6th. The outbreak has since subsided with no new cases.

Initially tests came back inconclusive, but health officials described it as noro-like. Victims suffered symptoms similar to what many call the stomach flu.

Ottawa County Medical Director, Dr. Paul Heidel says this the largest single norovirus outbreak ever in Michigan.

Our original report was: Holland, Michigan Campus Hopes Norovirus Too Shall Pass

We do want to  correct one item there.  Hope is located in Southwest Michigan, not Eastern Michigan.  We've been there, but clearly not enough!

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Sellery Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin at Madison appears to be ground zero for a norovirus outbreak at UW. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

"As many as 45 students at UW-Madison are sick with the norovirus.

Many of the students live in the Sellery dormitory.

Symptoms of norovirus illness usually include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping. Those affected can also have a low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and a general sense of tiredness.

Health officials aren't considering it an outbreak because the virus has been contained."

Located at 821 W. Johnson in Madison, Sellery is named for turn-of-the-century UW history professor, liberal arts dean, and acting UW President George Clark Sellery.

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A reader tipped us off over the weekend to the growing Norovirus outbreak at Hope College in Eastern Michigan.   By this morning, Kym Reinstadler at The Grand Rapids Press was reporting more than 400 students and staff at Hope College were suffering from the virus, which the Brits so lovingly refer to as "the vomit disease."  Here's some of that report:

Hope College officials say since Friday, more than 400 staff and students have come down with symptoms of the nasty flu that has been knocking down people like bowling pins.  The small liberal arts college is now unlikely to open before Wednesday, according to the college...

"About half my friends have gotten sick and several didn't go to a clinic because it's a viral illness and doctors can't really do anything for you, anyway," said Katie Opatik-Duff, a freshman.

She created a Facebook page for the campus community called "Hope College: The Great Plague of 2008," because she wanted to find out how many people the brief but miserable illness laid low.

About one third of the 3,200 campus community had registered at the site Sunday, 14 percent of whom said they are sick or had been.

"It's a pretty good representative sample, and based on it my estimate is that 400 people got sick," said Duff, who returned home to Middleville on Friday to try to avoid getting sick. She lives in Dykstra Hall, which was hard-hit by the virus.

Based in Holland, MI, Hope College was founded in 1866.  For the complete Grand Rapids Press story, go here.

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The University of Arizona is the latest campus to go through a norovirus outbreak.  Last Saturday, Melissa Vito, vice president for student affairs and Dr. Harry M. McDermott, executive director for campus health & wellness, sent an email to everyone on campus:

"We have received reports from University Medical Center that they have seen 15-20 University of Arizona students in their emergency room since last night suffering from symptoms that are consistent with a highly contagious gastrointestinal virus. Symptoms are similar to those of a norovirus, which medical officials suspect, but are awaiting confirmation based on lab results. The symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea.

"Noroviruses are not typically life threatening, but they are extremely uncomfortable for those experiencing them. The close quarters found in college fraternities, sororities and residence halls are ideal for quickly spreading the highly contagious viruses.

UA health officials are working with the Pima County Health Department to evaluate and monitor the situation.

Noroviruses are very contagious and can be spread easily from person to person. People infected with a norovirus are contagious from the moment they begin feeling ill until at least three days after recovery. Both stool and vomit are infectious, including being in the vicinity of a person who is vomiting..."

The complete advisory can be found here.

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