The University of Southern California (USC) Engemann Student Health Center issued a norovirus alert on campus after reporting dozens of cases of the rapidly spreading gastrointestinal disease.
According to a CBS Los Angeles news report Thursday, the Los Angeles County Health Department has put the case tally at 103 since the outbreak started last week.
Some students say the source of the illnesses is related to a dorm at one of the dining halls.
Student health advises if you have Norovirus, please help protect the other members of the Trojan Family and stay home for at least 24 hours after symptoms subside.
You should not attend class or go to work while you have Norovirus, as the likelihood of infecting those around you is high. Provost Quick sent a letter to faculty notifying them of this situation and is asking faculty to provide flexibility for students who are ill. If you are ill and need to miss class or work, you should contact your professor and/or supervisor so that they are aware of your needs. USC needs the cooperation of everyone in the community to keep Norovirus from spreading further.
Norovirus is a highly contagious viral illness that often goes by other names, such as viral gastroenteritis, stomach flu, and food poisoning.
The symptoms includenausea,vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping. Sometimes people additionally have a low-grade fever,chills,headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of tiredness. The illness often begins suddenly, and theinfected person may feel very sick. In most people, the illness is self-limiting with symptoms lasting for about 1 or 2 days.
In general, children experience more vomiting than adults do.
Norovirus is spread person to person particularly in crowded, closed places. Norovirus is typically spread through contaminated food and water, touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus and then putting your hand or fingers in your mouth and close contact with someone who is vomiting or has diarrhea.
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