Have you ever witnessed someone exit the bathroom without washing their hands?  Regardless of your answer you can imagine your reaction.  Ones response to this incident varies.  Some think it’s a matter of choice, while others view it as a matter of necessity.  It is general knowledge, that hygiene promotes better health.  Consider how many times we have read or heard reports about the benefits of washing our hands, sanitation in food preparation, and avoiding sharing eating utensils?  Yet, is there a special danger for the college student in neglecting these seemingly trivial and routine tasks?  Every student would agree that performing well in college become exceedingly difficult when they are plagued by illness. Research shows that a group of viruses that feed on the absence of basic hygiene practices reek havoc on college campuses and their students.

 

How high are the stakes? 

 

Surprisingly high!  In 1998 a epidemiology report suggest that in the Untied States between the years of 1996-97 94% of outbreaks emarked by acute abdominal illness, called Gastroenteritis, were linked to Norwalk-like viruses(the group of viruses that cause the disease).  In particular, college campuses have been a nesting place for the viruses classified as “Norwalk-like” viruses. Researchers from Swarthmore College, Emory, and Duke University conducted a study on two US college campus outbreaks.

In their hunt for the culprit, researchers collected stool and saliva samples from sick students at both schools and then compared these to samples from their healthy peers.  The scientific analyses looked for antibodies, the bodily response to the virus, in the samples.  Samples that tested positive for the antibodies were put through more precise tests at the gene level.  Through a process called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the scientist identified that the viruses to belong to the Norwalk-like family of viruses.  The significance here is that this particular class of viruses is highly comfortable in a college campus setting and can spread rapidly.

 

Can we dismiss this as just another coincidental outbreak?

 

Unfortunately, no! The researchers concluded that although the students had just returned from a holiday break, the source of the illness was from the schools.  Even though they were unable to pinpoint the exact source of infection, the researchers stated “epidemic curves suggest that both outbreaks started with exposure to a contaminated common source that spread the infection to a large number of students”(Moe et al).  From this point of common contraction the virus was spread through common living areas, towels, clothing, utensils, person-to-person contact, and bathrooms.  It was found that it is highly probable that many similar outbreaks have occurred in the past and will continue to occur.

 

How can students protect themselves?

 

As you might have imagined prevention is everything.  The researchers suggest a protocol for hygiene and sanitation that has been proven effective in reducing the risk of contraction.  The study revealed that shared utensils and similar forms of person-to-person contact were risky behaviors.  Thus avoiding these would be a great place to start. They also recommend the following: frequent and thorough hand washing; isolation of ill persons from food preparation; strict sanitation policies for food preparation areas.  When a person becomes ill contact with them should be kept at a minimal.  The good news is in most cases the virus runs its course and no permanent harm is caused.  Once an ill person recovers their linen and clothing should be sterilized to prevent spread of the virus.

            So whether you have view hygiene and hand washing as compulsory or a matter of convenience, for a college student and many others it can affect your likelihood of meeting with a Norwalk-like virus.  The result could be the pre-exam stomach ache that undoes weeks of preparation.  Take the advice of researchers, protect and prevent by heeding those constant reminders to wash your hands.

 

References

 

Christmas, William A; Echols, Linda J Moe, Christine L; Miller, Sara E. Outbreaks of Acute Gastroenteritis Associated With Norwalk-Like Viruses in Campus Settings MayoClinic.com “Hand washing: The simplest way to avoid infection”  http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=HQ00407  Accessed November 2003.

National Center for Infections Diseases. “Respirator and Enteric Viruses Branch”  http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/faq.htm Accessed November 2003.

National Institute of health. “Viral Gastroenteritis” http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/viralgastroenteritis/index.htm Accessed November 2003.

Parashar UD, Dow L, Fankhauser RL, et al. An outbreak of viral gastroenteritis assoiciated with consumption of sandwiches: Implications for the control of transmission by food handlers. Epidemiol Infect. 1998 pgs 121,615-621.

United States Food and Drug Administration. “Other Gastroenteritis Viruses” http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap35.html.  Accessed November 2003.