Students hit by stomach illness; officials say it wasn’t the food

A health scare at Oglethorpe University prompted an inspection of the dining hall, but the cause of an illness affecting four dozen people was likely something besides the food, officials say.

Two students went to the hospital, raising concerns that they’d gotten food poisoning, but the illness likely resulted from a stomach bug, a university spokeswoman said Monday.

“The health department found no evidence of food poisoning,” said Renee Vary, an Oglethorpe spokeswoman.

About a month ago, a few students complained of stomach ill- ness, including two who sought medical attention, fueling a petition for improvements in how university workers handle the food.

The university workedwith the DeKalb County Health Department to investigate, Vary said, and on Friday DeKalb told the university the investigation had determined that the illness was likely the result of person-to-person contact.

Norovirus was said to be the most likely cause, and there was no indication of a food-borne outbreak, Vary said.

The campus food service company ordered its own inspection, which the university shared with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It found a few minor problems, such as modest “pink build-up” in the ice machine, caused by condensation, and an employee who touched her face.

The incidence of norovirus infection peaks from December to March, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the way this illness spread — with 48 people reporting symptoms over five days, 17 of them with the relevant symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea or both — was inconsistent with a food event, which would typically occur on one day, Ford said.

Health officials in February blamed norovirus after 13 students at the Milledgeville campus of Georgia College reported suffering gastrointestinal illness.