An Ontario public well being unit has detected norovirus amongst a bunch of 190 individuals reporting signs of gastroenteritis on the College of Guelph during the last week.
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Well being mentioned that the optimistic norovirus pattern arrived Friday, days after a wave of scholars began reporting gastroenteritis signs to the southwestern Ontario faculty.
“Our group is working intently with the College of Guelph to analyze the sicknesses and handle the instances,” Danny Williamson, a spokesperson with the general public well being unit, mentioned in an e mail Saturday.
Norovirus is very contagious and sometimes causes gastroenteritis, an irritation of the abdomen lining and intestines that may result in nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
These reporting such signs are primarily college students on campus however some dwelling off faculty grounds are additionally believed to be impacted, Williamson mentioned.
“Those that have been affected seem like recovering properly and rapidly,” he added.
The primary case of gastroenteritis the college was alerted to got here Monday by way of a self-report, the varsity mentioned in a press release on its web site.
It has since been monitoring the variety of self-reported instances in residence, which it mentioned had reached 170 by Friday morning.
“These instances are a cumulative whole based mostly on particular person reviews and will not be confirmed by way of laboratory testing,” the varsity cautioned.
“As well as, lots of the affected people would have now recovered as signs are inclined to subside inside 24 to 48 hours.”
The majority of the instances the varsity encountered got here from South Residence, although the varsity mentioned there have been instances reported at different campus housing services as properly.
To assist quell the unfold, the college mentioned it has stepped up its cleansing of high-touch surfaces like doorknobs and loo areas.
It additionally quickly moved away from providing large-scale social applications for residence communities and was planning an consciousness program geared toward selling hygiene and lowering sicknesses.
The college suggested anybody experiencing signs to keep away from populated areas and isolate or cut back contact with people till signs are over or haven’t been skilled for 48 hours.
That recommendation was echoed by Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Well being, which inspired individuals to extend their handwashing and cleansing of continuously touched surfaces.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Jan. 11, 2025.
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
