In late October, health officials in St. Louis notified the general public of an E. coli outbreak in the region. Speculation pointed toward lettuce at five Schnucks supermarkets as the source of the deadly bacteria (which is now not proven), and officials from both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control were summoned to St. Louis for investigation and treatment.

Following suit with other colleges across the country, Washington University has made preparations for a possible outbreak of the swine flu this coming winter.