Nearly half of Virginia high school out sick due to flu-like, gastrointestinal symptoms in mystery outbreak - NBC News

Nearly fractional of the pupil colonisation of a Virginia precocious schoolhouse was retired of schoolhouse Friday with flu-like oregon gastrointestinal symptoms, with an probe into the root of the enigma outbreak underway, officials said.

Approximately 1,000 students were absent Friday from Stafford High School successful Fredericksburg, Virginia, with galore reporting flu-like and gastrointestinal symptoms, Sandra Osborn, main communications serviceman for Stafford County Public Schools, said. 

That's astir fractional of the school's colonisation of 2,100 students.

Stafford High School is unfastened Monday and "we are reassessing conditions this morning," Osborn said.

A heavy cleaning and disinfecting of the schoolhouse was performed implicit the weekend, according to the district.

Osborn said different schools successful the territory are not seeing akin numbers of absences owed to illness.

Stafford High School canceled each school-related activities and athletics implicit the weekend, “due to the precocious fig of pupil and unit illnesses reported this week,” according to its Facebook page.

In an update Monday, the territory said 670 students were absent from the schoolhouse and each aft schoolhouse sports and activities volition beryllium canceled done Tuesday astatine the precocious school. 

The territory said officials investigated h2o fountains and repast services astatine the schoolhouse and “do not judge determination is simply a transportation betwixt either of those services and these illnesses.”

The schoolhouse volition “continue to cleanable vigorously each time until attendance returns to normal,” according to the update.

The probe — conducted by the district, the Virginia Department of Health and the Rappahannock Area Health Department — has truthful acold identified a fig of students who tested affirmative for influenza.

"We are besides seeing a signifier of gastrointestinal symptoms, which whitethorn beryllium owed to the flu oregon whitethorn beryllium a abstracted illness," the update said.

The VDH recommends keeping schools unfastened and continuing mitigation measures.

The Rappahannock Area Health District said successful a connection Monday, "the root of the unwellness has not yet been determined, and until we get much accusation we cannot marque a conclusion."