An outbreak at school!
Authorities confirm that students at a Virginia high school are having an outbreak that has led to more than 1,000 students and administrative staff calling in sick. Through a statement, parents were notified about this incident, and several school events were canceled.
The outbreak has drawn media attention because nearly half of the school is out sick. Officials continue to investigate the origin of the outbreak among the students and employees of the school.
“Nearly half of the student population of a Virginia high school was out of school Friday with flu-like or gastrointestinal symptoms, with an investigation into the source of the mystery outbreak underway,” NBC News reports.
According to reports, about 1,000 students at a Virginia high school have fallen ill, that’s nearly half of the 2,100-person student body had come down with flu-like symptoms as of Friday.
Here’s what the Rappahannock Area Health District said in a statement Monday:
“We are also seeing a pattern of gastrointestinal symptoms, which may be due to the flu or maybe a separate illness,” the update said.
“The source of the illness has not yet been determined, and until we get more information we cannot make a conclusion.”
Half of Virginia high school out sick due to flu-like, gastrointestinal symptoms in mystery outbreak https://t.co/sC2Wug02cj
— MSN (@MSN) October 24, 2022
A Virginia high school will remain open even as hundreds of students continue to stay home because of flu-like illnesses.
A district official says other schools “remain within normal absence rates.” https://t.co/tW73vh5slw
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) October 25, 2022
More details of this outbreak report from NBC News:
Stafford High School is open Monday and “we are reassessing conditions this morning,” Osborn said.
A deep cleaning and disinfecting of the school was performed over the weekend, according to the district.
Osborn said other schools in the district are not seeing similar numbers of absences due to illness.
Stafford High School canceled all school-related activities and athletics over the weekend, “due to the high number of student and staff illnesses reported this week,” according to its Facebook page.
In an update Monday, the district said 670 students were absent from the school and all after school sports and activities will be canceled through Tuesday at the high school.
The district said officials investigated water fountains and meal services at the school and “do not believe there is a connection between either of those services and these illnesses.”
The school will “continue to clean vigorously each day until attendance returns to normal,” according to the update.
The investigation — conducted by the district, the Virginia Department of Health and the Rappahannock Area Health Department — has so far identified a number of students who tested positive for influenza.
Few more details added from a USA Today report:
In a letter obtained by Fox 5 Washington DC, Principal Allen Hicks said: “We remain very concerned, and will continue to monitor the situation alerting you to any changes we may need to make to our operations. Our custodial staff will conduct an extensive and thorough wipe down of the entire school this evening.”
It still remains unclear how the outbreak occurred. Messages made by USA TODAY to the school were not immediately returned Monday morning. The school’s newspaper, The Smoke Signal, reported the cause of the widespread infections was an Oct. 15 homecoming dance attended by more than 1,200 students in the school cafeteria.
While cases of the seasonal flu often increase in October and peak in the winter months, an overall increase in flu activity has been reported in most of the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
One high school in the San Diego Unified School District had a similar situation earlier this month with around 1,000 absences out of 2,600 students, according to The Los Angeles Times.
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