E. coli hospitalizes GU student

A Gonzaga University student remained hospitalized Friday after tests indicated he was suffering from an E.coli 0157:H7 infection from an unknown source.

The young man, who lives on-campus at the Spokane school, was in satisfactory condition at Sacred Heart Medical Center after being admitted with symptoms that included abdominal cramping and diarrhea, officials said.

The unidentified student’s illness did not appear connected to a recent national outbreak of E.coli infection from tainted California spinach or to recent Washington state cases linked to raw milk.

“We don’t have anything right now that points to any particular source,” said Julie Graham, spokeswoman for the Spokane Regional Health District.

Four inspectors from the health district spent more than four hours on and near the Gonzaga campus, investigating places the student may have eaten during the past two weeks.

Investigators interviewed officials from the campus food service supplier but did not initially find anything amiss, said Dale Goodwin, spokesman for the university.

Students who live on campus often eat at sites outside the university, he added.

E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria are typically found in the intestines of cattle. The bacteria recently have been linked to outbreaks of food-borne illness, including a spinach scare that sickened nearly 200 people in 26 states. Three deaths have been linked to the outbreak, including elderly women in Wisconsin and Nebraska and a 2-year-old Idaho boy.