The number of laboratory-confirmed Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) cases tied to Ohio University’s Athens campus has jumped from four to eleven in two days, and every one of the eleven is an Ohio University student, the Athens City-County Health Department and Ohio University said in a joint release on Friday, November 13, as reported by Marler Blog and by The Post, Ohio University’s student newspaper.
The source of the infections has not been identified, according to the joint release. The first four confirmed cases were announced by the health department on Wednesday, November 11, at which point the department had not said whether any of the four were students — a question Friday’s release answered.
The joint release is signed by Carl T. Ortman, MD, the county health commissioner, and Ken Johnson, DO, the university’s vice president of health affairs, according to Marler Blog’s summary of the release. Investigators want to know when people became ill, where they spent time and what they ate in the days before symptoms began, and the health department said its epidemiologists and environmental health specialists are examining potential exposures while public health nurses interview each patient about symptoms, onset dates, food and other exposures.
According to The Post’s reporting, summarized by Marler Blog, the university told students and faculty it has increased cleaning and disinfection in residential, dining, academic and high-traffic areas, and that its food-safety staff have walked through culinary facilities to review food safety and sanitation practices. Students who are ill can ask the Office of the Dean of Students for isolation housing and academic support, The Post reported.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: What we know, from the joint release: eleven laboratory-confirmed STEC cases as of Friday afternoon, November 13, up from four on November 11; all eleven are Ohio University students on the Athens campus; and no source has been identified. What we are still waiting on: the serotype, whether genetic sequencing links the cases to one another, the illness onset dates, whether anyone has been hospitalized, and whether the students share a dining hall, restaurant, event or other common exposure — none of which officials have released.
The scale is unusual for Athens County. Ohio reported 649 STEC cases in 2024, about 5.5 for every 100,000 residents, and a county of roughly 62,000 people would expect three or four cases in an entire year — making eleven confirmed cases in one week, all in one population, an outbreak until investigators show otherwise, as Marler Blog noted.
Health officials say STEC symptoms usually begin three to four days after exposure but can take up to ten days, and include severe stomach cramps and diarrhea that may be bloody; some people also have vomiting or a low fever, according to the release summarized by Marler Blog. Anyone with those symptoms should see a health care provider and ask for a stool test. The Athens City-County Health Department can be reached at 740-592-4431.
The timeline is short and steep. The health department announced the first four laboratory-confirmed cases on Wednesday, November 11. By Friday afternoon, November 13, the joint university-county release put the count at eleven and confirmed all were students. The next milestone is Thanksgiving break on November 26, when students scatter to homes across Ohio and beyond — which is why investigators are pressing to collect food and exposure histories now, while students still remember what they ate and where they were, as Marler Blog noted.
For students who do get sick, federal guidance matters: the CDC says antibiotics and anti-diarrheal medicines should not be used for a suspected STEC infection without a provider’s direction, because they can raise the risk of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication that damages the kidneys, according to the CDC guidance summarized by Marler Blog. Warning signs of that complication — less frequent urination, unusual fatigue and loss of color in the cheeks and inside the lower eyelids — are reasons to go to an emergency room. Washing hands with soap and water after using the restroom and before eating or preparing food, and not preparing food for others while ill, are the release’s standing advice.
Ohio readers following campus health news this week can also read our coverage of measles exposures spanning two counties after Burton school and campus visits. No second genuine relative on this specific outbreak exists in today’s coverage, and we will link further Athens updates as they publish.
What happens next: the investigation continues through the weekend, with Thanksgiving break — when students leave Athens for home — arriving November 26. Officials have said they will update the public as the source investigation develops, and any new confirmed case count will be appended to this story as a labeled update.