David O’Brien
September 3, 2006
Record-Courier staff writer

Kent State University officials and local health departments are taking preventive measures against the potential spread of the Hepatitis A virus after Fridays confirmation that a male student employed with University Dining Services had the virus.

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus. As of 1 p.m. Saturday, approximately 270 preventive immunizations had been performed by University Health Services on the unidentified male students roommates, coworkers and anyone who came into direct contact with him or ate more than two catered meals he may have prepared between Aug. 18 and Aug. 24, according to the university and local health officials.

The male student, who was involved in preparing as many as 500 catered meals in the Kent Student Center prior to being diagnosed, lives in off-campus housing and is now healthy, according to chief university physician Dr. Ray Leone.

Officials said a second possible case is unrelated. In that case, a female KSU student suspected of having Hepatitis A was hospitalized Friday at Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna, unable to eat and suffering from dehydration.

At a press conference on the Kent campus Saturday, Leone said the male student was sick for four or five days before visiting an emergency room and later the DeWeese Health Center. The student had not traveled recently, took no summer classes and is not a Portage County resident, health officials said. He will also not return to classes or work for at least 10 days, Leone said.

Immunization measures are strictly preventive, said Portage County Health Department Medical Director Dr. Angela DeJulius, as the risk of exposure from food handlers is very low. Still, health officials said they have evaluated 72 catered events that took place on campus during the time frame for exposure, and tracked the names of organizations and numbers of people who ate meals in the Kent Student Center between Aug. 18 and 24.

In the second suspected case, the female student visited the DeWeese Health Center Friday with nausea, vomiting and liver inflammation, symptoms Leone called too coincidental to ignore.

However, results of interviews with the students revealed they are strangers and had no direct exposure to each other, Kent Health Commissioner John Ferlito said Saturday. The female student, who like the male student lives off campus, arrived back at the university Aug. 24 and did not eat any meals on campus until Aug. 27.

That fact, Ferlito said, puts her beyond the two-week time frame for exposure from the male student.

We cant put them in the same spot, he said. They dont know each other and didnt get it from each other.

Leone said symptoms of Hepatitis A include dark colored urine, light colored stools, yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, severe stomach pains, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea lasting longer than a so-called 24-hour bug. The disease may result from a pre-existing medical condition such as mononucleosis or be transmitted by a fecal-oral route by someone who failed to wash their hands after using the restroom, according to DeJulius.

University Dining Services has high standards for cleanliness, university spokesman Ron Kirksey said. Leone also said the infected student was described by his coworkers as a very careful, conscientious worker. DeJulius also stressed that 50 percent of Hepatitis A cases stem from an unknown source.

Free immunizations, which are 85 percent effective against infection, are being offered at the DeWeese Health Center from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and Monday. Those with concerns about potential exposure may call the UHS hotline at (330) 672-6600 or visit the University Health Services Web site at www.uhs.kent.edu for more information.