CU-Boulder's Wardenburg Health Center has provided information and consultation to students, faculty and staff since late this week when word of Professor Eric Cornell's hospitalization with a rare form of Group A streptococcal infection became known, said Wardenburg Director Robert Cranny.
Cornell was hospitalized earlier in the week with the rare Group A strep infection known as necrotizing fasciitis, which spreads quickly throughout the body once contracted and can be fatal. A statement by Cornell's family issued Friday afternoon stated, "Eric is in critical condition and doctors are closely monitoring his progress."
The statement also advised, "Anyone close to him who develops cold symptoms and is concerned should see their doctor."
According to Cranny, Dr. Martha Johns, Wardenburg medical director, met with students, faculty and staff on Thursday afternoon at JILA, where Nobel laureate Cornell is a senior scientist for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and an adjoint professor at CU-Boulder. JILA is a joint research institute of NIST and the university.
The information meeting was "very well attended," Cranny said. "People expressed a high level of concern about the situation, primarily because of their concern for Eric."
Cranny's office learned of Cornell's condition at 2 p.m. Thursday and Dr. Johns met with JILA personnel at 3 p.m. that afternoon. A fact sheet explaining necrotizing fasciitis was distributed and a question-and-answer session was conducted.
Since Thursday, Wardenburg also has conducted strep tests on about 12 students who work at JILA, Cranny said. Strep testing also is available for faculty and staff through Wardenburg, said Cranny, though their medical insurance coverage may not cover testing at Wardenburg.
Strep tests are not considered essential for JILA personnel, Cranny said, but people who work closely with Cornell and have developed symptoms may want to take the precaution of having a test for streptococcal A infection.
"Strep A is a fairly common bacteria that can cause common illnesses such as strep throat, but this diagnosis (necrotizing fasciitis) is not common," Cranny said. The Centers for Disease Control report about 600 cases of necrotizing fasciitis occur annually in the United States.
Also on Friday, the university's Environmental Health and Safety office arranged with a private contractor to disinfect some areas of the JILA building, including restrooms, drinking fountains, elevator controls, handrails and similar locations near Cornell's office, three laboratories and his assistant's office.
EH&S Director Dave Wergin said the disinfection "was considered an extra precaution that was not essential but probably a good thing to do, given we're at the onset of flu season. Many of the methods of preventing the spread of this bacteria are similar to the things we do to prevent the flu, such as frequent hand washing, so it seemed wise to take this extra step," Wergin said.
The Wardenburg fact sheet also provides information on precautions that people can take to protect themselves from strep A infections. Wardenburg issues similar precautions annually to university students to help them ward off the flu and meningitis, which is more common for college-age people who live in residence halls and also can be deadly. Those precautions include:
* washing hands frequently, especially during cold and flu season
* avoid sneezing and coughing around other people; cough into your sleeve if necessary when others are present to avoid dispersal of germs
* avoid shaking hands if you are sick
* avoid sharing drinks and eating utensils with other people
For more information on necrotizing fasciitis, see the
Wardenburg Fact Sheet (a PDF file).
Or check the following Web sites:
Centers for Disease Control: Group A Streptococcal Disease, National Institutes of Health: Genome-Wide Analysis, and MedlinePlus: Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infection.