Leverett House Sickness Caused By Flu, Not Dining Hall Food

A flu virus, rather than food poisoning, probably caused the mysterious small-scale epidemic that hit Leverett House residents over the weekend, a University Health Services (UHS) doctor said yesterday.

Dr. Peter J. Zuromskis '66, chief of UHS Acute Care Services, said that more Leverett students have come down with the flu-like illness since the initial outbreak.

This suggests a viral disease, according to Zuromskis, who is also a medical advisor to the Environmental Health and Safety Services.

A food quality inspection by an environmental consultant after the outbreak uncovered no evidence of food "deficiency" in the Leverett dining hall.

David Lantini, general manager of the dining services for the river houses, agreed yesterday that the food was untainted.

Zuromskis also said that hot, freshly-prepared dishes like pizza, the food in question, are much less likely to be contaminated than re-heated foods and poultry or egg dishes.

And no similar cases were reported by students from Eliot, Lowell and Kirkland Houses, which receive the same food as Leverett.

Although dining hall employees eat before students do, Zuromskis said none have reportedly fallen ill.

"The employees would have acted as canaries in coal mines had there been contaminated food," Zuromskis said.

But Zuromskis added that until UHS has examined all the individual cases, food poisoning cannot be ruled out. He encouraged students in the throes of the illness to come to UHS for treatment of their symptoms.