Nearly 100 fall ill with norovirus at Kansas elementary school

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 13:44 · Archive

Almost 100 children and staff at Bentwood Elementary School in Kansas contracted norovirus in an outbreak that began in early October.

Nearly 100 children and staff at Bentwood Elementary School in Overland Park, Kansas have contracted norovirus in an outbreak that began in early October. The first case was reported on 5 October, and within seven days enough similar illnesses had been reported for county health officials to be contacted. The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment said 95 people at the school and two family members contracted the virus, though cautioned that the total is likely an undercount given the virus's high contagiousness.

A parent at the school told local news outlet KCTV she was surprised by how quickly the virus spread. "I was surprised we had such a heavy amount of it so quickly," Samantha Pedraza said. "Normally, we have the flu come through, cold, things like that, but it never usually balloons that fast or takes out that many kids at a time."

Norovirus causes inflammation of the stomach or intestines. Symptoms, which typically appear 12 to 48 hours after exposure, include diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting. Most people recover within one to three days but can continue spreading the virus for several days after. Throughout the outbreak, Bentwood Elementary custodians conducted additional daily disinfections of high-touch surfaces and high-traffic areas.

How it is being reported

• As Norovirus Outbreaks Hit Headlines, These Are The Distinctive Symptoms Of 'Winter Vomiting Bug'Cases of Norovirus have been on the rise. Norovirus has hit headlines for causing suspected nasty outbreaks in a US school and on a flight from Greece. The outbreak at a school in Kansas impacted almost 100 children and staff, The Independent reported , while several passengers on board a plane heading from Rhodes to Germany fell ill with gastrointestinal symptoms. Meanwhile The Mirror reported the illnesses on the flight are linked to a norovirus outbreak on the island of Rhodes that’s been ongoing since July. Two weeks ago, Cork-based paediatrician Dr Niamh Lynch highlighted she’d received…HuffPost UK · 22 Oct, 13:30
• Nearly 100 kids, staff at Kansas elementary school come down with norovirus in outbreakParents were shocked by how many students were infected with the stomach bug in such a short amount of timeIndependent World · 21 Oct, 23:18

In this story: Bentwood Elementary School · Overland Park · Kansas · Johnson County Department of Health and Environment · Samantha Pedraza

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