University Of Maryland dorms deep cleaned after student's death linked to mold

Dorms are being deep cleaned as students are growing increasingly concerned


Dorms are being deep cleaned at the University of Maryland, as students are growing increasingly concerned that mold problems may be linked to the death of a freshman, according to an article on the Fox News website.

Olivia Paregol, 18,  died from the same rare virus that killed 11 children in a New Jersey healthcare facility. Paregol developed a cough, which later worsened to pneumonia. She died from adenovirus on Nov. 18 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She died less than three weeks after the school learned she had the illness. The university has since said five more students have illnesses tied to the same rare virus.

Some students said they found mold on their shoes and clothes in their dorm back in August — and believes the fungus caused them to fall ill. After they repeatedly alerted university officials, about 500 students were moved to temporary housing while the school worked to clean the dorms. Paregol, - who suffered from Crohn's disease and a weakened immune system -lived in Elkton Hall, one of the dorms evacuated for cleaning.

Dr. David McBride, head of the university’s campus health center, said the university has stepped up our cleaning efforts and is on high alert. Earlier this fall, the same strain of the adenovirus caused a viral outbreak at a rehabilitation center in Wanaque, N. J., that has killed 11 children.

Read the article.



December 10, 2018


Topic Area: Infection Control


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