Illness hits hard at schools

The hallways and classrooms of Jay Schools have been less crowded this week, as flu-like symptoms have many teachers and students staying home from school.

Jay Schools Supt. Barbara Downing said the district had a total of 371 students absent on Monday, up from a daily average of about 170. And on Wednesday, there were 14 teachers absent across the district for various reasons. According to Jay County High School principal Wood Barwick, the high school had six teachers ill on Wednesday alone.

“We’re sending quite a few students home with it,” Jay Schools lead nurse Geri Morrical said of the flu-like symptoms. “It’s normal every year. This year’s different because we’re getting so many so early. This flu season has not peaked yet, and that’s what’s causing the concern.”

Morrical also indicated it is important for parents to call the school when their children are going to be absent. Some parents have assumed that because of the high volume of sick students, they don’t have to call the school to explain the absence.

The school corporation was hit hardest last year during mid-February, when Barwick remembers as many as 230 students absent from the high school, or just above 20 percent of the student body. JCHS hasn’t reached numbers like that this year — 182 students were absent on Monday, 170 on Tuesday and down to 162 on Wednesday. However, that number increased today, as the attendance office reported 176 students absent.

On average, the high school has between 50 and 70 students absent each day.

Morrical said that typically some students get the flu between November and Christmas break. Then when students come back from break “we’ll see small numbers (of sick students) that will gradually mushroom again through January and February.”

Other area school districts have not experienced quite as drastic an increase in absent students, but they do have more students out than usual. South Adams High School has averaged between 25 and 28 students a day out this week, which is up slightly from a daily average of 20 students absent. The numbers at Fort Recovery High School are similar, with about 24 to 27 students a day out this week, up from an average of about 12. Fort Recovery Elementary/Middle School has experienced students with the flu, but the number of students absent has not significantly increased.

Jay Schools are taking extra precautions by trying to encourage students to wash their hands frequently and stay home if they do feel ill. At South Adams High School, assistant principal Tom White said administrators have placed hand sanitizer — a waterless cleanser — in the classrooms for students to use. White said South Adams used the same precautions during flu season last year, and he believed it helped in fighting the spread of the symptoms.

Closing school is an option to help prevent spreading illness, but Downing said that has not come into serious consideration yet.

“That would be a decision I would make in consultation with administrators,” Downing said.

“What can usually stop something like this is Christmas break and getting the kids home and away from one another,” Dr. Stephen Myron, who is the Jay County health officer, said Wednesday. “Also, public awareness on what to do to avoid spreading it can help.”[[In-content Ad]]While local school districts have experienced an increase in absent students due to flu-like symptoms, the illness has hit a lot of local households as well.

Dr. Stephen Myron, who was recently named Jay County health officer, says his office has been “overwhelmed” by the amount of calls they are receiving from people experiencing the illness.

“It really is making its rounds in this area, and you don’t have to go far to see that’s the case,” Myron said Wednesday. “This seems to be a lot more virulent. It’s really causing people to have significant symptoms, and it’s really hitting some of our younger, healthier people pretty hard.”

Myron said the Jay County Health Department is out of flu vaccines, and it will not receive any more this flu season.

However, the office is expected to receive 100 units of a nasal flu mist, which is a newer flu vaccine, sometime in the near future. The nasal mist is intended for use by patients between the ages of 5 and 49 that are already in good health. Myron said the health department will have confirmation later this week on when the nasal mist will arrive.

People who have other health problems, or children with asthma, should seek medical attention within the first 24 hours after experiencing flu-like symptoms. People in better health could wait 24 hours, but if the problems persist, they should see a doctor. Myron identified the symptoms as fever, headache, fatigue, dry cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and muscle aches.

To avoid getting sick, Myron advises people to wash their hands as often as possible, avoid large crowds and clean the surfaces you touch frequently with a disinfectant.

“Get plenty of rest, exercise and eat properly,” Myron said. “The main thing is to stay hydrated. If they become dehydrated, it becomes a whole new cycle.”