• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

More Madison students sick with norovirus

Nov. 14--The University of Wisconsin-Madison is warning students to take extra hand-washing precautions after discovering dozens of students in some sorority and fraternity houses are getting sick.

The university already was monitoring dozens of students who live in the same UW residence hall who became ill with symptoms of gastroenteritis since Nov. 7.

"We have expanded notification to all students on campus, and we are continuing to expand our surveillance areas," University Health Services Executive Director Sarah Van Orman said this afternoon.

University Housing has reported that 63 of Sellery Hall’s 1,100 residents have reported suffering from vomiting and diarrhea. Housing staff have stepped up cleaning procedures to control the spread of illness.

On Thursday, University Health Services received reports of several dozen sick students in some of the sorority and fraternity houses and word of suspected cases among students living off-campus. Officials suspect the illnesses might have been caused by a norovirus, said Mary Makarushka, communications manager at University Health Services.

Symptoms of norovirus illnesses include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illnesses also can cause low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and tiredness. Symptoms usually last one or two days. To control spread of the illness, sick students have been urged to stay home from class and work and avoid large gatherings.