How not to respond to an outbreak: Delayed and ineffective response to norovirus from College sicken

This week, Muhlenberg has been dealing with a norovirus outbreak. I’d know: as a member of MCEMS who responded to several potential cases, the author of the norovirus article in this issue and a public health major, I find the College’s response to the outbreak so frustrating.

One of public health’s core beliefs is that primary prevention is better than treatment. Of course, there are times when prevention is challenging; out- breaks are, by their very nature, hard to predict or prevent. But in this instance, it took the Dean of Students Office a full week to even begin soliciting information from those who may have treated themselves or chose to not seek assistance at the Health Center. Moreover, the link for that form was buried halfway through an email with the same information about the norovirus that was distributed on Feb. 2.

The stated goal of the survey is to help “direct cleaning and support resources to areas in most need more effectively and to monitor the situation college-wide better.” Although no one knows how much longer this outbreak will last, we do know that it has passed the one week mark. Wouldn’t this strategy have been more effective if it were implemented at the outset of the outbreak? In that scenario, the College could have tracked and allocated resources in real-time, during the height of the outbreak. That is more reflective of the preventative mind- set of public health.

There has also been a significant amount of confusion surrounding the true extent of this outbreak. When I asked the Health Center for the specific number of cases that the office was aware of, they would not disclose the number. Regardless of the reason, the Health Center and Dean of Students Office should want to disclose this information in the effort of dispelling rumors. That they have not done so is disappoint- ing and problematic.

What better way to combat potential public health threats on campus than to tap into the best resource available to the College—its students. This represents an exceptional opportunity for public health students to gain experience outside of the classroom, while providing a valuable service to the community.

An email overloaded with information better displayed on a fact sheet is not the way to communicate with students. Let’s strive to do better next time.