Norovirus Downs 200 Students at Miami University of Ohio

About 200 students from the Miami University of Ohio were downed by norovirus this week. The university confirmed the report saying that infected students mainly complained of stomach pain.

Spokesperson Carole Johnson told USA Today that five individuals initially went to the university's clinic because they were experiencing abdomen pain, vomiting, nausea and diarrhea. She claimed that the numbers of infected students grew with most seeking first aid in adjacent hospitals.

It was also noted that the virus easily spread to other students because it is very contagious. Epidemiology professor Bill Moss told USA Today that norovirus can be so hard to contain once it has infected one individual.

Miami Student Health Center's Cindy Traficant told WCPO that there are about 17,000 students studying in the university which the virus can easily infect. "It's a giant petri dish community, very close quarters," she added.

A week ago, a similar outbreak happened at the University of Michigan where about a hundred students said to have contacted the "winter vomiting bug." This virus, as per WebMD, targets the stomach and the linings of the large intestine causing of diarrhea and vomiting.

Officials of Miami University of Ohio have reportedly sent out tips via e-mail to their students on how to avoid contacting the virus and stopping it from further spreading. An update from the institution also claimed that the patients are also feeling better and cases have "already slowed."

Johnson also mentioned with Fox News that the school has improved on the cleaning of the entire university and has also handed out sanitizers to students as precautionary measures. She claimed that those who have been previously infected were able to recover in one to three days.

It was noted in the USA Today report that this latest outbreak is the third largest in the past week in a US school. Aside from the infected students at the University of Michigan, another 200 students were also reportedly sickened by the virus at Pennsylvania's Ursinus College.