Reports of illness at Ursinus trickle in, now over 200

The Montgomery County Health Department on Saturday posted the report of its latest inspection of Ursinus College's kitchen - a Thursday visit that found one minor violation, allowing the Wismer Dining Hall to reopen - as attempts to pinpoint the source of widespread stomach illness continued.

More than 200 students reported gastrointestinal symptoms between Tuesday and Friday, and university spokesman Tom Yencho said on Saturday that he believed two or three more had come up overnight. Twenty two students had been treated at area hospitals earlier in the week; none were admitted, and most students are getting better.

The symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea, suggest a foodborne illness, but finding the source requires health officials to determine what those who were stricken had in common, and then confirm the presence of a virus through laboratory testing. So far the main thing they are known to have in common is that they are students.

After an inspector found 17 violations - none of them necessarily related to the illnesses - on Wednesday, the university in Collegeville voluntarily shut the kitchen for sanitizing. Classes, which were canceled Thursday and Friday, will resume on Monday.

- Don Sapatkin