Absences skyrocket as virus hits schools

Flu-like illness keeps hundreds of students at home

A flu-like virus is sweeping through Douglas County area schools, causing absentee rates to soar and forcing one private school in Lawrence to temporarily close.

“We’re canceling school for the next two days to try to get people away from each other and out of the building,” said Chris Carter, the head of Bishop Seabury Academy.

Bishop Seabury will be closed today and Thursday, Carter said.

Tuesday, 35 of 105 students enrolled at the school were absent, he said.

Other schools are being hit hard by a virus causing a mixed bag of illnesses that include nausea, diarrhea, fever and upper respiratory problems, school officials said.

In Lawrence public schools, the illness has struck the junior high schools and Lawrence High School the hardest, said Julie Boyle, school district spokeswoman.

At West Junior High School, 140 of 624 students were absent Monday. No official count was available for Tuesday. South and Southwest junior highs each reported about 80 absences Monday. Each have enrollments of about 650 students, Boyle said

St. John’s Catholic School in Lawrence also has been hit hard in recent days, Principal Pat Newton said.

“There are other reasons people have been absent, but a large number of them have been sick with flu-like symptoms,” Newton said.

Baldwin school nurses talked with state health officials about the possibility of closing but decided it wouldn’t help the situation, Supt. Jim White said.

“They said we’d have to take off 10 to 14 days for it to have an effect, and we’re not ready to do that,” he said.

Starting last week, more students than usual began reporting sick in all of McLouth’s public schools, officials there said.

About the only area school district where the virus hasn’t caused high absences is in Eudora.

“We’ve had a few kids out, but nothing out of the ordinary yet,” Eudora High School Principal Dale Sample said.

The virus is seeking out adults as well, sending some people to Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s emergency room, officials there said.

“We’re seeing more adults than kids,” emergency room doctor Anthony Goetting said.

In most cases, the virus runs its course in 24 to 36 hours, he said.

Most who show up at the emergency room aren’t suffering from the flu, Goetting said. But since Jan. 1, 10 of 26 tests on patients at the emergency room have shown positive for influenza B, one of the types covered by the flu shot being given to the public this year.

Flu shots are still available at the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said Barbara Schnitker, director of nurses.