After a confirmed case of typhoid fever at Purdue University last month, Ball State officials are concerned the disease could spread to campus.
Dr. Kent Bullis, director of the Amelia T. Wood Health Center, said education is his primary method to prevent the spread of the disease. A part of that education included a public safety notice sent to Ball State students, faculty and staff.
“The biggest thing we’ve done is to notify students and the other thing is to review the treatment and diagnosis since it is something we don’t see terribly often,” Bullis said.
Bullis said the rare disease is highly contagious and can even cause death. People might have the disease without even knowing it.
“The single most distinguishing characteristic is fever,” Bullis said. “It is unusual for someone to have typhoid fever that doesn’t have a fever over 103. It takes eight to 14 days for the disease to fully develop and a person to show signs of symptoms.”
A food handler at Purdue’s student-run hospitality building Marriott Hall tested positive for typhoid fever in January.
Kate Beard, a Ball State senior dietetics major, said she is a little concerned about typhoid fever spreading, especially since she has family at Purdue.
“My sister’s roommate ate there all three days and now she is sick,” Beard said. “My sister is watching for the symptoms.”
Jon Lewis, director of Campus Dining Services, said he would have taken the same action as Purdue if the disease originated at Ball State.
“[Purdue] correctly announced they had typhoid fever and that the [infected] person worked in the hospitality building,” Lewis said. “Protocol would be just like what they did at Purdue. [We] would work with the Health Center to identify the problem.”
Lewis said Dining Services staff takes a simple and effective approach to prevent the spread of disease.
“Employees are taught to wash their hands and use gloves,” he said. “We train and re-train our employees so they know sanitation is important in preventing the spread of diseases like this.”
The Indiana Board of Health says the person with typhoid fever at Purdue can’t return to work until cleared by a doctor.
