Alabama schools closed after 1,200 children contract gastroenteritis virus

American news

as if Catherine Donlevy

More than 1,200 students were absent Wednesday after a highly contagious stomach bug swept through an Alabama school district.

More than half of the children infected with the virus came from the same school, which was closed for the rest of the week as the state Department of Public Health investigates how the virus infected the student body.

Baldwin County Public Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler said, “Due to the number of staff and students who are absent, the number of people experiencing symptoms and our efforts to contain the outbreak, we unfortunately have to close the building.” Letter to parents.

“When he leaves, we will deep clean the school so when the students come back next week, it will be completely cleaned.”

Health officials have not determined what kind of virus is spreading in the hallways of at least four district schools, calling it a “gastrointestinal outbreak.”

Sick students and staff experienced nausea and vomiting, and quickly came down with the disease.

Fairhope West Elementary School sources were hit particularly hard He told News 5.

Only two dozen students out of the 866-strong body fell ill on Tuesday, a number that rose sharply overnight.

On Wednesday, only 145 students and half of the teachers showed up for class.

Hundreds of other students missed class Wednesday at another nearby elementary school, as well as a middle and high school, totaling 1,231 students.

Other schools have urged parents to keep their children at home as carefully as possible.

Although it’s not normally defined as norovirus, Baldwin County school officials are treating it as such.

Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that causes vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Anyone can be infected and sickened by norovirus, which is easily spread through shared food and water and contaminated surfaces.