Monday, November 9, 1998
Penn students hospitalized after possible food poisoning
DORMS: Officials dispute accusations that illnesses stem from
dining halls
By Ben Geldon
Daily Pennsylvanian
University Wire
PHILADELPHIA “¹ An outbreak of nausea and vomiting that
many students charge was linked to tainted food in the three main
dining halls at the University of Pennsylvania struck at least
three dozen people Tuesday night, though the actual total could be
almost twice that. Penn officials disputed the food-poisoning
claims, saying the illnesses were likely the result of an
influenza-like bug.
The exact number of victims is unclear, with official and
unofficial tallies varying wildly. University spokesperson Ken
Wildes said last night that 30 to 35 students visited Student
Health Services or the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania,
and several more called to ask for medical advice. Many also
suffered symptoms but did not seek medical advice, students said
last night.
University and Philadelphia public health officials are
investigating the maladies, Wildes said.
The bulk of the illness reports came from Hill College House,
where some residents estimated that as many as 50 students had
become sick since dinner Tuesday night. At least a dozen more
students from other parts of campus reported similar symptoms, many
students said.
"There’s no common thread that would tie (the illnesses) to
food," Wildes said. "The thinking now is that it is not
food-related. It’s some sort of a viral infection." Additionally,
there was no one single food that all the sick students ate.
Many sick students, however, said their doctors told them it was
food poisoning.
Wildes said laboratory tests to determine the source of the
illnesses are already under way, and results will be back in a few
days.
According to people who were at the hospital’s emergency room
Tuesday night, there were at least 11 people in the waiting room
with food poisoning symptoms.
Students reported many symptoms, including vomiting, nausea,
diarrhea, fevers and headaches. In addition to Hill, several
students who had eaten Tuesday night in Stouffer Dining Commons and
Class of 1920 Commons said they had gotten severely ill in the 24
hours following dinner.
Officials at Dining Services refused to comment, referring calls
to Wildes.
Wildes said several students who had not eaten at the dining
halls also reported similar symptoms, which he cited as evidence
that the illnesses were not from food poisoning.
Most of the sick students seem to have been from Hill, where
resident Andy Schaps, a third-year engineering student, said up to
50 Hill residents were showing symptoms of food-poisoning, though
not all had gone to the hospital.
Hill Faculty Master James O’Donnell said many students in his
residence had become sick, but he had not received an exact count.
Hill House Dean Tracy Feld also sent an e-mail to all 540 residents
urging students who felt sick to seek medical attention.
One Hill resident who fell victim to the malady, sophomore Seth
Scanlon, said doctors told him that "dozens and dozens" of students
came in throughout the night complaining of similar symptoms.
Several graduate associates at Hill confirmed that many students
in their suites had been hospitalized.
Scanlon said he was feeling nauseous and threw up for two hours
before he decided to go to the hospital.
Once there, doctors gave him antibiotics and an intravenous
saline solution to hydrate him. He stayed in the ER for more than
12 hours.
Other students reported similar treatment.
"It was pretty bad," Scanlon said. "I didn’t think I could keep
anything down."
Another Hill House resident, who requested anonymity, said she
was "in excruciating pain" and was throwing up for two hours.
Scanlon said the doctors had ordered him to stay away from solid
foods for 24 hours, and then to stick with bland foods like rice or
applesauce for several days.
In addition to the students from Hill, there were several
confirmed cases in the Quadrangle and the high rises.
Second-year student Nick Kruse, a Hill resident, said he went to
Student Health yesterday morning and saw several other students
with similar symptoms.
During his four-hour stay, more and more students were arriving
and several additional doctors showed up to handle the tide, Kruse
said.
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