Isolated flu outbreak at Arlington Heights middle school extends into second day
A sharp spike in flu-related absences at South Middle School on Wednesday and Thursday was an aberration even within Arlington Heights Elementary District 25, but government health officials see such cluster cases as a reason to remind the public about germ prevention.
Three schools and eight congregate care centers have reported similar cluster cases to the Cook County Department of Public Health this flu season, but there have been no flu-related deaths of children in the county, officials said.
Statewide, as of the week ending Feb. 16, there had been 43 reported flu outbreaks in institutional settings, of which nine were in the greater Chicago area, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Spokeswoman Melaney Arnold clarified that the department's own tracking of outbreaks in institutional settings focuses on facilities such as nursing homes and correctional centers, and does not require direct reports from schools. However, the state sometimes hears from more local health departments when flu-like activity increases.
Though 192 of the 884 students at South Middle School called in sick Wednesday — 21.7 percent — attendance rates at all other District 25 schools were normal, even among the four elementary schools that, in whole or in part, feed into the middle school, spokesman Adam Harris said.
In a letter to parents Thursday, Principal Piper Boston reported that absences had remained at approximately the same level for a second straight day.
Attendance at the district's other schools — and among faculty and staff at South Middle School — remained normal, Harris said.
While stressing that flu season isn't over until after the spring thaw, Cook County Department of Public Health spokeswoman Kimberley Conrad Junius said the county has been doing fairly well this season. She added it's not too late for a flu shot to be worthwhile for people who didn't get one in the fall.
The best advice is to get vaccinated and to “clean, cover and contain,” Conrad Junius said. People should wash their hands, cover their coughs and stay home when ill, she explained.
Arnold said the state's advice is much the same in preventing and containing outbreaks each flu season, particularly among schools.
“Influenza outbreaks and clusters occur every year in schools throughout the state,” she said. “The duration and cause are unique to each outbreak, but some common factors that play a role are the size of the school's population, if those who are sick stay home from school, how many individuals received a flu vaccine for the season, and is the school taking infection control measures.”