19 teachers, hundreds of students ill

[alert]

Could be H1N1, but sounds a bit like norovirus, or even salmonella.

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert_read.php?glide=EH-20100213-24914-USA&cat=dis&lang=eng

Ronnie Hicks had no idea how many of his son's classmates were sick. "I was a little shocked," he said. "I thought this was just a secluded thing. I was really surprised that it was as big as it was." Hicks's son Lucas started vomiting Tuesday night. The seventh grader missed school Wednesday and stayed in bed most of the day. "He was just under the covers, he didn't want to come out," Hicks recalled. "It's tough when you're son's that sick." Lucas returned to school Thursday. He said on Friday his math teacher was out sick. A total of 19 teachers and 150 kids did not show up either. Another 19 students went home with stomach flu symptoms. "It's really highly contagious," said Connie Jones, Communicable Disease Nurse with the Guilford County Health Department. "It can run through a school, it can run through a family." "This is unlike a lot of the stomach viruses that have gone around," said Hicks. "This one is really tough and it's pretty painful." Jones stresses the disease is generally NOT life-threatening. But people who get sick should be careful to stay hydrated, she notes. To prevent the spread, Jones recommends washing hands frequently, keeping bathrooms clean, and avoiding people who are sick.

 

[Farmer]

Re: 19 teachers, hundreds of students ill

Apparently norovirus is spreading in the Raleigh area.

Here is another potentially-associated outbreak:

Students fall ill at Raleigh conference
Emergency vehicles line the street in downtown Raleigh outside a hotel where illnesses were reported.

Raleigh, N.C. ? More than 100 students attending a Youth & Government conference at the downtown Raleigh Sheraton fell ill Saturday, according to one of the event sponsors.
/snip/

Some attendees reported stomach discomfort, vomiting and diarrhea early Saturday morning, Perry said. As the reports increased, conference leaders called emergency personnel.

Sick students were isolated, treated and returned to conference activities, Perry said.

Jesse Hammerstein, spokesman for the Wake County EMS, said first responders felt the symptoms could be dealt with on-site, and they did not want to flood any one local hospital.

By early afternoon, about 150 students had been treated and 15 remained under medical care, according Hammerstein.

/snip/

Perry said food poisoning could be a possibility. All the students attended a banquet at the Raleigh Convention Center Friday night, he said.

No other guests of the hotel reported any symptoms.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7028906/