Campus chatter: 'Do you have the plague?'

By lunchtime Thursday, Ursinus College freshman Sam Hayslett was happy to be healthy.

She took a Spanish test in the morning, and had no complaints about having to bundle up and trudge off to the athletic center for a hoagie.

But Hayslett acknowledged her luck may not last.

Her roommate had started vomiting overnight - the first sign of what everyone was calling the Ursinus plague. In barely 48 hours, a stomach virus had washed over the Collegeville campus, disrupting life at the liberal arts school unlike anything in recent memory.

At least 185 students - more than 11 percent of the student body - fell sick between Tuesday night and Thursday afternoon, dozens so dehydrated they sought emergency care.

Classes were canceled, dining halls closed. School officials called off weekend events and dispatched teams to scrub and sanitize campus buildings.

Pinpointing the cause could take a week or more, according to the Montgomery County Health Department, which is spearheading the investigation.

As the mystery lingers, so, too, does the concern.

"Everyone's nervous about getting sick," said Hayslett, who came to Ursinus from Connecticut. "Everyone you talk to is like, 'Are you sick? Do you have the plague?' "

Seeking to keep concern in check, officials noted that it is a common time of year for gastrointestinal illnesses, such as norovirus, to spread in communities like colleges and long-term care facilities.

But the bug that knocked down a noticeable chunk of Ursinus' 1,650 students spread so rapidly that Paul Doghramji, the college's medical director, called it an "exceptional and sensational situation" - the worst he has seen in his 21 years on campus.

"We believe that it is spreading person to person," he said.

It spread so rapidly that officials struggled to keep track of how many students were affected.

By Thursday morning, Ursinus officials said, 174 students were ill. Hours later, county officials said some had been mistakenly counted twice and the number was actually about 150.

The school again revised its numbers Thursday afternoon, saying the number of students reporting symptoms had crept back up to 185. And those figures didn't include faculty and staff stricken by the bug.

Around 30 students sought treatment for dehydration at area hospitals or urgent care centers, officials said. Others were given antinausea or anti-diarrhea medication at the campus wellness center and retreated to their dorm rooms with hope of weathering the illness.

Valerie A. Arkoosh, a doctor and county commissioner serving as the interim medical director for the county health department, said the surge in sick students was "not surprising given the incubation period."

With dining halls closed, Ursinus officials scrambled to feed students, 97 percent of whom live on campus and rely on meal plans.

On Wednesday night, the school gave students $10 vouchers to use at local restaurants. On Thursday, Wawa, Wegmans, and Collegeville Italian Bakery trucked food onto campus, some donated, some paid for by the college.

By lunchtime, the athletic center resembled a food distribution center. Faculty and staff handed out Gatorade, fruit, chips, and hoagies. The line stretched through the lobby and down the hallway.

"We called Wawa and said, 'How much can you give us? When?' " said Missy Bryant, assistant dean of students.

As the line grew, staff members handed out potato chips to those waiting.

James Gilette, a sophomore from Norristown, conceded he was "very lucky" to have been spared. He said he stayed on campus through Thursday morning to go to class.

But he planned to spend the weekend at home. Administrators had urged students to avoid mingling this weekend.

"We can't go out and party," Gilette grumbled.

Others, like Hayslett, had no choice.

She said she would wait out "the plague" in her dorm room - with her sick roommate.

"I washed my hands more," she said.

lmccrystal@phillynews.com

610-313-8116 @Lmccrystal