EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Officials say more than 100 students at an eastern Pennsylvania university were stricken last week with what appears to be a gastrointestinal infection.

Officials at East Stroudsburg University said about 42 students sought treatment beginning Tuesday night, and within two days that number had nearly tripled.

Pocono Medical Center spokesman Geoffrey Roche said the hospital say 62 students between Wednesday and Thursday morning, admitting eight and sending the rest home after treatment.

Dr. Jeffrey Jahre of St. Luke’s University Health Network told The (Allentown) Morning Call that the most likely culprit is norovirus, the culprit in widely publicized outbreaks of gastroenteritis on cruise ships.

Self-service food stations in campus dining halls have been shut down, and the university is urging students to wash their hands frequently and disinfect common areas.