Villanova plagued by a mysterious illness

Imagine Student Health flooded with students suffering from the same mysterious disease, although no one knows what it is or its cause. This scene, which took place approximately five years ago at the University, is happening now on the Main Line campus of Villanova University. Between 175 and 180 students at Villanova have reported the same general symptoms, including abdominal cramps and diarrhea. According to Villanova spokesperson Stephen Bell, the State Health Department has been called in to investigate the outbreak. And although the culprit is thought to be a virus, he said the exact cause remains a mystery. Bell said state tests determined that there was no connection between food and water and the illness. "State Health Department tests were unable to find any organism to which the virus can be attributed," Bell said yesterday. Bell said that symptoms typically last from 12 to 24 hours, followed by full recovery. MarJeanne Collins, director of Student Health Services, said that while the University's health service has been deluged with students suffering from flu symptoms -- which is typical this time of year -- there appear to be no cases of the mysterious illness at the University. Collins compared the Villanova outbreak to an incident that occurred at the University about five years ago. Contaminated ice from a factory flooded with creek water was served at a Franklin Field football game, causing nearly 200 people to become ill, she said. Bell said that there were few new cases of the illness over the weekend and none reported on Monday and Tuesday of this week.