Stomach Disorders

Dr. Warren E.C. Wacker, director of University Health Services (UHS), said yesterday that there is no evidence to support concern among some students that Harvard dining hall food caused what some suspect is an unusually high incidence of stomach disorders this year.

Dr. Sholem Postel, associate director chief of Medicine for UHS, said yesterday stomach flu is only one of the viral infections which are making their annual appearance in the Harvard community.

He added there is no hard data that stomach flu is more common this year.

Postel said the stomach virus and its symptoms of nausea, cramps and diarrhea are not focused on any specific group, but are affecting all students, faculty and staff alike.

A food poisoning investigation begins at a House when a significant number of House members report stomach disorders in a 24-hour period, he added.

Postel said because the virus is transmitted in many ways, it can be avoided only by what he termed "total isolation."

The only documented case of food poisoning at Harvard in the past 14 years occurred at South House in April 1975, when uncooked seafood caused a rare bacterial epidemic.