While it is unknown what the illness is, it has been suspected to be the highly contagious norovirus but has not been confirmed, according to reports.
An outbreak of a mysterious gastrointestinal illness has hit one Alabama elementary school so hard that 773 students have contracted the sickness, forcing the learning institution to close Thursday, according to reports.
Fairhope West Elementary School is closed Thursday and Friday after the outbreak hit nearly 800 students, according to reports.
On Tuesday, 29 students missed classes at the school, according to WALA-TV.
Overnight, the number reached the hundreds, with half of the school’s staff also absent on Wednesday, forcing them to close on Thursday and also ebb the contagion to others who have not been affected, according to The Daily Beast.
“Due to the amount of staff and students who are absent, the number who are experiencing symptoms, and in an effort to help contain the contagion, we unfortunately need to shut the building down,” Baldwin County Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler wrote in a message to parents, AL.com reported.
Not only students got sick, but also 50 members of faculty and staff, according to AL.com.
The Alabama Department of Public Health released a statement Wednesday, which was obtained by Fox10.
“The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) has been informed and is investigating a gastrointestinal outbreak at Fairhope West Elementary School. The Baldwin County School System is working with the health department. Nausea and vomiting only are being reported. ADPH Infectious Diseases and Outbreaks staff has distributed specimen collection materials for testing through the ADPH Bureau of Clinical Laboratories. ADPH Environmental staff has educated personnel and conducted exposure-activity profiling. This is an ongoing investigation, and ADPH will provide updates as information becomes available. Thank you,” Alabama Department of Public Health said.
Tyler added in his statement, “While out, we will be conducting a deep cleaning of the school so when students return next week, it will be sanitized to the fullest extent. We understand the inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding. Please take care of yourself and your families.”
While it us unknown what the illness is, it has been suspected it is the highly contagious norovirus but has not been confirmed, according to reports.
The symptoms have been reported to be nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
“It affects the gastrointestinal system, and it is rapid in onset but short in duration,” Dr. Alison Rudd, Health Services coordinator for Baldwin County Schools, told Fox 10. “We are treating it as if it is the norovirus which many of the folks who watch your program, they’re probably seen in the media and we are working with our colleagues at ADPH to confirm that suspicion.”
Dr. Rudd also spoke to NBC 15 and said, “These are the types of illnesses you hear about shutting down cruise ships and so forth.”
Neighboring school Fairhope East Elementary has also been affected, but to a lesser extent, according to AL.com.
A letter to parents from the Fairhope East principal, obtained by AL.com, says they are “continuing to monitor the situation with the virus affecting many of us and those around us. I would like for you to strongly consider, if you can, keeping your student home for the rest of the week. Absences will be excused and schoolwork will be allowed to be made up. This is only a suggestion at this point, but it comes on the heels of Fairhope West being shut down. Like them, we are trying to keep the contagion low.”
Inside Edition Digital has reached out to the principal of Fairhope West Elementary School, as well as Baldwin County Public Schools and Alabama Department of Public Health for comment on this and has not heard back.
