Since last week’s report of twelve cases of salmonella, four new infections have been confirmed, three of which occurred after the closing of Frary Dining Hall, the believed locus of the bacterium.

Amber Croyle ’00 was diagnosed with salmonella Tuesday: "I was sick starting last Thursday and yesterday Baxter confirmed that I had salmonella," said Croyle.

Croyle claims to never have eaten at Frary or off-campus. Croyle believes her infection was contracted from Frank Dining Hall.

"I think everyone’s safety is in jeopardy with the cafeteria still open," she said on Wednesday. Investigation into the cause of her illness is still pending, along with the other two cases.

County Health Department Officials, however, had found no conclusive empirical evidence suggesting the necessity of the closure of Frary at the beginning of the semester. Dean of Student Ann Quinley ordered its closure after the second confirmed infection occurred.

"If there is even a one percent chance that salmonella is coming from Frank I will not hesitate to close that dining hall too," Quinley said at Monday’s forum regarding the continuing salmonella investigation and student concerns.

Of the three new cases diagnosed this week, the causes remain investigators’ best guess. The cause of one student’s illness may have been from fruit she took from Frary; the second reportedly was at home for the 72-hour infection period, and had brought food from home back to campus.

Croyle’s case, however, remains the most mysterious. Although she believes she hasn’t come into contact with anyone with the bacterial infection, this more recent case is being investigated as possible secondary exposure. Quinley commented that students might have been exposed to the bacterium through their friends or neighbors.

Dr. Eric Frykman of Baxter Student Health Services said that it is possible, though unlikely, to contract salmonella poisoning from a secondary source. He stressed the importance of practicing basic personal hygiene. "[Secondary infection] has something to do with somebody’s fecal secretions touching somebody else’s mouth," explained Frykman.

Members of an open-forum panel at Frank on Mondayl stressed the hope that the forum would clarify the activities of Aramark, the Los Angles County of Health, and the administration in relation to their activities to determine the cause of the salmonella outbreak. The forum was also meant to dispel rumors circulating on Pomona’s campus this past week concerning an infection at Frank Dining Hall.

The panel included Aramark District Manager Scott Parry, Quinley, medical epidemiologist for Acute Communicable Disease Control at the Los Angles County Department of Health Doctor Elizabeth Bancroft, and a representative from Sillikar Laboratories.

However, students are still concerned about food preparation at Pomona since this is the second outbreak of salmonella to occur on Pomona’s campus since July. In the first outbreak 180 people attending a conference contracted salmonella according to Professor of Economics James Likens, who hosted the conference. TSL previously reported only 120 cases in the July outbreak.

Aramark officials stressed the additional measures they are taking to guard against further possible outbreaks. These include not only completing testing of all Frary dining hall employees (so far 61 employees have been tested for salmonella, and of the 56 tests that have been returned, all tested negative), but also dipping all fruits into a chlorine solution bath before serving, a common practice used by restaurants and grocery stores.

Though few students attended the forum, the atmosphere was intense in Frank’s Blue Room, where the discussion took place. At one point, a student who had experienced the symptoms of salmonella, but who was never tested for the bacteria, voiced her grievances: "I’ve spent over $500 on [food from outside establishments] since the beginning of school because I don’t trust the dining hall’s food," she explained.

Other students at the forum agreed that compensation, not only for those students who contracted salmonella, but also for all Pomona students should be considered. Elizabeth Dorr ’00 added, "I would just like to know what the school is doing to compensate students for the inconvenience [of having a dining hall closed]."

The representative from Sillikar Laboratories explained that its tests were negative on all surfaces tested at Frary. Their salmonella investigation tested such environmental factors as electronic mixers, cutting boards, surfaces surrounding cutting boards, refrigerator floors, raw meat cutting boards, utensils, mixer bowls, slicers and can openers.

Since the actual cause of the salmonella outbreak is yet to be found, administrators and Aramark representatives have decided to eliminate food items that are often linked to salmonella from the menus for the present time.

One student asked of the purpose, "By eliminating the chicken and eggs from the menus, you are also eliminating many of the low-fat protein options for students. I don’t really feel that these are being supplemented. What is Aramark, if anything, doing to remedy this situation?"

An Aramark representative pointed out that the dining service was using increased amounts of rice and beans. Eventually, Aramark plans to bring back chicken and eggs to the menu, but only after they are pronounced safe. Only pasteurized eggs will be used, as well as pre-tested hard-boiled eggs.

Administration hopes that, with the approval of the Health Department, Frary will reopen by October 4. However, administrators and Aramark officials admit this date is only tentative.