Unexpected Journey introduction week cut short

The Unexpected Journey team acted swiftly, drawing up an emergency plan together with the Belgian public health service (GGD) and providing support and care for those who fell ill. The GGD has investigated the cause of the illness and concluded that it is most likely food-related.

Students who are unwell will be collected by their parents or carers. Students who are unwell and do not have this option will be brought back and looked after with the help of BUas. Due to the scale and severity of the situation, it has been decided to not continue with the remaining introduction programme on Friday morning. The remaining students will be collected this morning and looked after on the BUas campus.

The GGD’s advice for students and carers who are unwell is as follows:

• If you have mild symptoms such as vomiting, stomach ache or headache, you should rest until you recover. Paracetamol may help. Otherwise, rest, sleep and allow yourself to recover. Symptoms and the course of recovery can vary from person to person.
• It is important to drink enough (water).
• If symptoms such as uncontrollable pain, vomiting blood or fainting occur, call 112 or your GP for a possible referral to A&E or hospital.
• Please observe the basic hygiene rules at home, and make sure housemates do so as well (washing hands, toilet visits, etc.).
• If you require medical care, please contact the Breda out-of-hours GP service (huisartsenpost): www.hapwb.nl.

The GGD, together with the Dutch and Belgian partners involved, is investigating the cause of the illnesses. It is not yet possible to say when the cause can be established with certainty. The GGD itself does not provide medical care to the students and does not monitor individual cases. BUas remains in contact with the students. The GGD advises on measures to prevent further spread and on what students should do if they experience symptoms or if symptoms worsen. The GGD has informed the out-of-hours GP service so that they are aware of the situation.

BUas academic staff will be contacting the students concerned over the next few days to check how they are doing and whether any further support is required. If you, as a student or supervisor who is unwell, or as a parent, would like to contact BUas about this sooner, please call 076-5332275.

We are deeply concerned by the situation and our primary concern is for the well-being of our students. To this end, all the necessary emergency services have been called in to provide the best possible care, and we are seeking advice from medical experts on how best to respond to this situation going forward.

During the night and morning, many students were already picked up by their parents / guardians. Starting in the morning, BUas brought all remaining students back by bus to the BUas campus in Breda, where they were looked after and given appropriate support. BUas lecturers are calling all students twice, today and/or tomorrow, in an effort to reach everyone and check how they are doing and whether they need any further support. Where necessary, they are also being actively referred to the Breda out-of-hours GP service.

It is a great pity that this has happened after last Monday’s wonderful city day and three truly lovely days in Poppel. We greatly appreciate how students and supervisors looked out for one another last night, and we hope that, despite this unfortunate end, everyone can still look back on the introduction week with fond memories.

BUas Executive Board