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I apparently made a few errors in the post about the recent Salmonella food poisoning outbreak at PU (pun intended). I want to thank the anonymous member of the Princeton Graduating Class of ’09 for pointing out the inconsistencies and errors in the post.  First, the so-called “dining clubs” are actually called eating clubs. Second, fraternities and sororities are allowed at PU and I hear that they are alive and well. Finally, I inadvertently noted that the University has severed contracts with several of its produce suppliers which may have been the putative source(s) of the outbreak. In fact, the University didn’t cancel contracts but only temporarily closed a few of the eating stations at the Frist Campus Center. My local newspaper reported that contracts where severed–I guess you truly can’t believe everything that you read!

I was duly chastised for not adequately verifying my information before I hastily crafted the post. I stand corrected and will attempt to be more vigilant in the future. That said, I think that my lack of understanding of the practices and customs at Princeton University is directly related to the fact that I attended Cornell as an undergraduate. Mea Culpa!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

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Yes, even the Ivy League isn’t immune to food poisoning outbreaks from time-to-time. There are currently 10 confirmed cases of Salmonella food poisoning at Princeton U. Another 50 people or so have also fallen ill with gastrointestinal symptoms consistent with Salmonella food poisoning.  As a precaution, university officials have temporarily discontinued doing business with their produce suppliers. For those of you who don’t know, Princeton is famous (infamous?) for its so-called dining clubs. These clubs take the place of sororities and fraternities which are not allowed at this august institution of higher education. Obviously, there is more than eating that goes on at these “dining clubs.”

The reason I am blogging about the outbreak is two-fold. First, I live about seven miles from Princeton and it has been all over the local news. Second, I did my PhD work on the pathogenesis of Salmonella gastroenteritis. So, Salmonella food poisoning is dear to my heart (thankfully, not my gastrointestinal tract). Many infectious disease experts tend to dismiss the seriousness of Salmonella gastroenteritis. This is likely because it is usually not as devastating as shigellosis or infections caused by enteroinvasive strains of Escherichia coli (which is actually Shigella masquerading as E. coli). As my major professor once put it “You know when you have Salmonella gastroenteritis—if you can’t decide than it is not salmonellosis.”

I am happy to report that I never came down with gastroenteritis while working for over three years with enteroinvasive Salmonella strains (even though I was routinely mouth pipetting and eating lunch in the lab; practices which aren’t acceptable by today’s standards). I like to think that “the bugs” were afraid of me. Alternatively I had either a great immune system or extremely good aseptic techniques. Whatever the reason, it is always embarrassing when card-carrying microbiologists come down with the disease(s) that they are studying. Luckily, I never came down with the disease caused by the bacterium that I was studying during my first postdoctoral fellowship—Neisseria gonorrhoeae. That would have been extremely difficult to explain!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (remember to wash your hands)!!!!!!!!

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