About 20 students in NC State’s chapters of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority and the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity are exhibiting severe stomach flu-like symptoms in an outbreak that is being traced to a social function between the two groups that took place Sunday. 

Fred Hartman, the director of public relations at NC State, said the students are exhibiting symptoms that are consistent with the stomach flu, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. 

The sorority hosted an event Sunday night, and the university became aware that students had developed stomach ailments by Monday night, according to Hartman. No new cases were reported as of 5 p.m. Wednedsay.

The severity of the symptoms varied on a case-to-case basis, and many of the students sought treatment off campus.

The Student Health Center posted a notification to its website indicating the stomach flu had appeared on NC State’s campus on Tuesday. According to the post, symptoms of the virus include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain/cramping, fever and/or headaches.  

The virus is spread by touching contaminated surfaces before touching the mouth, consuming contaminated foods and drinks and coming in direct contact with the stool or vomit of an infected person, according to the post. 

Brian Peters, the community director of the Honors Village, made a post in the NCSU Quad/Honors Village Facebook page indicating that there are reports of gastrointestinal illness going around campus, particularly in the Greek community, that is “potentially norovirus.” 

Although the word norovirus never appeared in the post from the Student Health Center, the URL link to the page is: healthcenter.ncsu.edu/2015/02/norovirus-campus/.

NC State Student Health tweeted on Tuesday, “Protect yourself from Norovirus! Wash your hands – Rinse fruits and vegetables – Clean surfaces and wash laundry,” with a link to a Centers for Disease Control page about norovirus prevention.

Students at Hampden-Sydney College in Farmville, Virginia returned to classes Wednesday after an estimated 300 students — one third of the school’s student body — came down with norovirus, a severe stomach illness that resulted in the hospitalization of some students. According to a release from the small all-male liberal arts college, the Virginia Department of Health confirmed that the outbreak, which began Jan. 27, was norovirus and caused classes and activities to be suspended for four days.

When asked if the outbreak at NC State has any connection to norovirus or Hampden-Sydney, Hartman said no.

Leah Arnett, the director of Student Health Services at NC State, deferred comments about the stomach flu outbreak to University Communications. 

Justin Hammond, the director of marketing and communications in the office of the Vice Chancellor and Dean of Academic and Student Affairs, said in an email that University Communications is handling all inquiries on this information and deferred comment to Hartman. 

Laine Gladstone, the president of NC State’s chapter of AD Pi also declined to comment.

Michael Wallace, the president of NC State’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Order, did not respond to multiple requests for comment by press time. 

Student Health Services has not received an unusual volume of stomach-related illness cases recently, Hartman said. 

In an effort to help the sick students, the university provided Get-Well Meal Kits, which include food and drinks such as soup and Gatorade, to the affected students living in the sorority and fraternity houses, Hartman said. 

Hartman said the university also provided assistance specifically to Greek Life and University Housing to prevent spread of “whatever this stomach bug may have been.”

The university sent an email to the Greek community Tuesday to let students know about the virus situation and provide tips to avoid getting sick. 

The Office of Greek Life declined to comment about the situation. 

 In addition, administrators posted messages on digital boards across campus, reminding students about the importance of hand washing and offering tips to stop the spread of illness.

“The university is taking steps to try and help those students and to try and prevent the illness from spreading,” Hartman said.