According to the Morning Journal, eight cases of salmonella have been confirmed among students at Clearview High School, according to Lorain County Health Department officials. The sicknesses are believed to be connected with a dinner served to the football team two weeks ago. The sick students have since returned to school.

Health Commissioner Ken Pearce said investigators also believe some of the sicknesses were strep throat-like illnesses in the upper respiratory area.

“Our focus is on that little football dinner,” Pearce said. “But it’s not confirmed that that’s what caused it.”

Last week, health investigators interviewed Clearview students to find any commonalities in sickness and collected voluntary stool samples. Pearce said not all the illnesses were related to diarrhea and the norovirus, or Norwalk virus, has been discounted.

Now the health department is waiting for investigators to complete tests that will tell whether all eight cases are associated with the same food. At the same time, an investigation is being done on the school lunch menus to see if anything students ate during the school day was the culprit.

Clearview High School officials did not return calls yesterday and it is unknown who provided the food to the team.