Fairfield Univ. students fall ill

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (WTNH) --  Fairfield University students are getting sick with a fast-moving stomach bug.

The school has confirmed that over the past 48 hours, more than a dozen students have fallen ill, some of whom were sent to the hospital. Students put the number sick in the hundreds.

"We heard there were over 200 people who have been affected by this," one student said. "The health center has been packed, people going to the health center and stuff. I'm just hoping I don't get it before finals."

"It's too many people to be some sort of food poisoning, it has to be some sort of virus because it has been spreading so fast," another student said.

Public health officials believe it could be the norovirus: a fast spreading virus that makes people sick to their stomachs.

"It's a fairly aggressive illness and really the key thing is cleaning and hygiene, which we're doing on our part and students can also do as well, cleaning any surfaces," said Tom Pellegrino, VP of Student Affairs, Fairfield University.

News 8 talked to one doctor who says when something like this is going around it's important to make sure you're aware of what you're touching. For example if there's a communal bowl of lollipops don't go grabbing one, same goes for a bag of chips if you want to share them with friends, don't do that at a time like this because that's how these germs easily spread from one person to another.

The school has cleaning crews working in all campus buildings around the clock, trying to sterilize communal areas.

"They were cleaning our bathroom at 1 a.m. and then I woke up at 7:30 and they were cleaning our bathroom again," a student said.

"The dorms have that pungent but good smell of bleach right now," Pellegrino said. "We're using diluted bleach, which we don't do on a regular basis, but in certain circumstances like this it is recommended."

The university is working with state and local health officials. They're hoping to stop the spread of the virus over the next 24-48 hours.