Last year's pinkeye outbreak put Dartmouth in the pages of several national newspapers, and now major medical journals are paying attention to the rash of cases that swept the campus.
In its March 20 issue, the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine published a study examining the unusual epidemic. The article was co-authored by several Dartmouth health officials in conjunction with authorities from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga.
"In the medical world, when you find something like this, first and foremost, you want to spread the word about that finding; it's how medical information is spread around," said College Health Services Director Dr. John Turco.
Though viral pinkeye is fairly common, Dartmouth health officials realized they had stumbled across an unusual germ last winter when culture tests done on several students indicated the illness was a bacteria instead of a virus.
"The brilliance was to do the cultures," Turco said, admitting that particular idea did not occur to him in the first days of the epidemic. "'It's viral,' I thought," he said, crediting the nursing staff at Dick's House with the forethought to run the tests.
When the tests indicated the pinkeye sported by Dartmouth students was actually caused by bacteria, College health officials alerted government authorities. The high number of cases also played a significant role in the decision to consult federal health officials.
Researchers discovered the bacteria was a strain in what is known medically as the streptococcus pneumoniae family.
"It was basically a strep infection in the eye causing pinkeye," said Turco.
CDC officials compared the Dartmouth bacteria with previously unidentified bacteria from cases collected in the early 1980s and discovered they were identical.
The obvious contribution to medical knowledge is invaluable, said Turco. In addition, he alluded to the government's recent high level of interest in extremely infectious agents in light of the prevailing national concern regarding bioterrorism.
In a rare role reversal, Turco said that the New England Journal of Medicine approached the College when the outbreak occurred and asked to publish the findings when they were complete. Compiling written results is part of procedure in rare medical cases, Turco said.
College health officials collected questionnaires from students and interviewed those who visited clinics set up by the College.
Turco said that federal health officials were particularly impressed with Dartmouth's ability -- through BlitzMail and a web-based survey -- to communicate and collect important medical information to the entire campus in such a rapid manner.
"We were able to do a fantastic amount in terms of questionnaires -- they were blown away by that," he said.
Especially impressive throughout the ordeal was the ability of College, local and federal health authorities to cooperate with one another, said Turco.
"It was a true team effort -- a wonderful example of how a private institution can work with state and federal officials to investigate a medical issue," he said.
In the wake of the New England Journal of Medicine's article, Turco said that a British opthamology journal has also expressed interest in interviewing Dartmouth health officials about the outbreak.
Many questions remain unanswered in spite of the published data, among them why the bacteria reemerged after two decades and why this strain lacked the protective capsule normally found around bacteria in the streptococcus pneumonia family.
Investigations are ongoing regarding these uncertainties.
Turco said he appreciated the willingness of Dartmouth students to provide data to officials and praised the nurses at Dick's House for the "tremendous job" they did at the clinics held by the College last year.
