Re: Ohio: 20 Sickened At Local Nursing Home
Illnesses arriving: Defiance, Paulding counites seeing plenty of sickness
While the flu season has not arrived yet in northwest Ohio, there seems to be plenty of sickness in the area.
Although there not have been any significant cases of influenza, said nursing director Laura Coressel of the Defiance County Health Department, We think there is a norovirus going around right now. We dont have a culture thats been confirmed, but we strongly feel it is a norovirus. A norovirus is a gastrointestinal virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea.
Flu symptoms, stomach aches, fevers and colds were lengthening the absentee lists at the elementary schools in Defiance County on Monday.
At Spencer Elementary School, a spokesman said there are usually three or four students absent due to illness. On Monday, 20 students and two teachers were out with illnesses.
Eleven students out of 170 at Noble Elementary School were absent with flu-like symptoms. There is also an outbreak of chicken pox in the first grade.
At Slocum Elementary School, 31 out of 215 students were absent.
At Anthony Wayne Elementary School, quite a few students were absent, while at Tinora Elementary School, the absenteeism rate was up just a little bit.
Out of about 600 students, between 28-30 students a day were absent at Hicksville Elementary School last week. The school nurse said that was about a normal rate and absenteeism had dropped on Monday.
She said most of the illnesses were those of an upper respiratory nature or involved stomach problems.
Gastroenteritis is also a problem in Paulding County, said Judy Fisher, the county health departments director of nursing.
There is gastroenteritis illness with vomiting and diarrhea, Fisher said. But I think it is everywhere.
So far, Henry, Fulton and Williams counties seem to have missed the worst of the virus that is hitting residents in other counties.
At the Henry County Health Department, nursing director Pam Pflume said, I have not heard of anything like that going around. It doesnt necessarily mean its not happening, though. We just havent heard about it.
In Fulton County, health department director of nursing Cindy Rose said, There havent been formal reports on this illness. Im hearing a few things, but there are no reports yet.
In Williams County, health department nursing director Becky Snyder said she has not heard of any incidents with this virus. She noted, though, that the schools were reporting a variety of illnesses.
Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and small and large intestines, and viral gastroenteritis is an infection caused by a variety of viruses.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), viral gastroenteritis is often mistakenly called stomach flu, even though it is not caused by influenza viruses.
There are many viruses that cause gastroenteritis, such as noroviruses, rotaviruses and others. It is not caused by bacteria, such as E. coli.
Symptoms include watery diarrhea and vomiting, along with the possibility of headache, fever and abdominal cramps. A person may be ill for one to 10 days, depending on the individual virus.
Most people recover fairly quickly from this virus, except for infants, young children and the elderly, who may not be able to quickly replace enough fluids that are being lost through diarrhea and vomiting.
This illness is contagious and is spread through close contact with an infected person or through contaminated food or drinks. Food can be contaminated by food preparers with the illness.
A form of viral gastroenteritis, the Norwalk virus, is the culprit usually associated with outbreaks of illness on cruise ships.
There is a rotavirus vaccine made for infants and young children which will protect them from that dangerous virus. There is no vaccine for the norovirus that affects mostly older children and adults.
To lessen the chance of getting the illness, frequent handwashing and using a chlorine bleach solution to wipe down possibly contaminated surfaces may help.
In more public setting such as a daycare center or a food-service operation, several recommendations are offered by the CDC.
Management in public settings should be sure ill workers stay home. This is especially important in nursing homes, hospitals and day care centers. Nursing home residents who become ill should be confined to their rooms, and sick children should stay home and not go to day care centers.
And, areas contaminated with vomitus or diarrhea should be disinfected with chlorine bleach.
