More than 140 students on the Rider and Princeton campuses have fallen in ill with what health officials suspect is a highly contagious strain of Norovirus.
Since the end of January, more than 100 students at Princeton have become ill with symptoms including nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping and diarrhea. This week, at least 40 students from Rider University in Lawrence became ill and dozens were taken to the hospital by ambulance on February 8.
The outbreak at Rider was confined to an on-campus residence hall where maintenance staff worked through the night on decontamination. A specific source of the outbreaks has not been identified.
Norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne-disease outbreaks in the United States, causing more than 20 million gastroenteritis cases nationwide each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There’s no vaccine to prevent Norovirus infection and no drug to treat it.
The best way to avoid becoming ill is to wash your hands carefully and to wash fruits and vegetables before eating them. If you are ill, prevent the spread of illness: don’t prepare foods, clean the bathroom after each use and immediately wash soiled clothing or linens.
