Written by Mackenzie Tatanani, Dailymail.Com
Updated December 20, 2023 02:15, December 20, 2023 02:27
- Three campuses in the Charleroi Area School District near Pittsburgh moved to remote learning last week.
- The decision was made after an outbreak of influenza at an elementary school resulted in some students being hospitalized.
- School districts across the country have seen outbreaks of the disease in recent weeks.
In one of the worst flu seasons in a decade, nearly 100 students in a Pittsburgh-area school district returned to remote learning after experiencing flu-like symptoms.
Classes across elementary, middle and high school campuses in the Charleroi Area School District moved online after dozens of elementary school students became ill.
Officials said 81 students came to the school nurse’s office Wednesday complaining of flu-like symptoms. More than 30 students were sent home, some requiring hospitalization. In response, authorities closed the district’s schools and moved classrooms online.
“But we know it’s the right thing to do to protect our students and staff,” Charleroi District Superintendent Ed Zelich told CBS.
Pennsylvania’s decision follows outbreaks in schools and school districts across the country, including Texas, Tennessee and Michigan. In some areas, up to 40% of students are reporting absences due to illness on any given day.
In Charleroi, elementary, middle and high schools were closed until Monday, and all weekend activities were canceled.
Several staff members, including a cook and a manager, were sent home with the same symptoms.
Zerich said the outbreak was unprecedented in his 10-year tenure in the district.
“The turning point was yesterday when the elementary school nurse called me and said I needed to be seen right away,” the superintendent said Thursday.
“When you have 80 students coming into the office and 30 or more going home before noon, you have a problem.”
The district pivoted to remote learning using a system put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although in-person learning resumed on Monday, the district still suffered from high absenteeism, especially among younger students. At least 30 elementary school students were sent home, and 36% of the district’s students were absent.
Although the district does not plan to return to virtual learning this week, Zerich urged parents to be careful when deciding to send their children to school.
The illness has affected schools across the country, with Happy Independent School District in Texas canceling school last week after about 40% of its elementary school students were absent due to illness.
Superintendent Trevor Egdemon I was told that the school district is facing a teacher shortage due to too many absentees. ABC7 report.
On Dec. 7, Perry County Schools in middle Tennessee announced it would be closed for the remainder of the week due to an unspecified “illness.”
Buckley Community Schools in Michigan closed the entire district this week after about 30% of its students became sick.
Superintendent Jessica Halland said. WPBN Most of the students were elementary school students, and most were experiencing flu-like symptoms.
Infection rates for influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 are surging in more than a dozen states, with infection rates rated “high” or “very high.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that infection rates are rising in 15 states.
This number is based on the weekly rate of patient visits to health care providers and hospitals with fever, cough, and sore throat.
The 2022-2023 flu season is on record as one of the worst in a decade, with 31 million symptomatic cases reported so far, according to CDC data.
Influenza viruses are constantly adapting, producing new strains each year that are immune to existing vaccines. This is why the disease is so widespread, especially affecting children with underdeveloped immune systems and putting them at greater risk.
The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 1 billion cases of seasonal influenza occur each year, including 3 million to 5 million severe cases.
The virus causes between 290,000 and 650,000 respiratory deaths worldwide each year.