HEALTH
Illnesses spike at 2 schools in suburbs
Illnesses sharply increased this week at least two suburban high schools—Williamsville South and John F. Kennedy— with, in one case, more than a fourth of the students out sick.
Most illnesses are not swine flu related, school officials said, but some students have been sent home with flulike symptoms.
At Williamsville South, 170 students — about 18 percent of the 950 at the school — were home sick Friday, said Rita Wolff, spokeswoman for Williamsville Central Schools.
“There’s no question it’s a spike,” Wolff said of South High, where 40 to 70 students typically are absent this time of year.
About 130 students had been out sick Monday, and the figure continued to climb through Thursday, she said. But only 18 of the ailing students exhibited flulike symptoms, and the district has not confirmed swine flu in any of the cases.
Many other students showed cold symptoms such as coughing and sore throats, but exhibited no signs of fever, Wolff said.
South High Principal Dan Ljiljanich sent a letter to parents Friday informing them of an increase in absences and reminding parents to keep sick children at home.
At John F. Kennedy High School in the Cheektowaga-Sloan School District, 140 students were out sick Friday, constituting 26 percent of the students at the small high school.
“Usually, we have anywhere from 25 to 35 kids out a day, so we did notice quite a spike in our absences from this week,” said Jacquelyn Astyk, the school nurse.
A few of the ailing students had flulike symptoms and have been tested for the H1N1 virus, but the school does not yet have any confirmed cases, she said.
“I think that people are cautious in sending their children to school,” she said. “If their child is showing any of the symptoms, they are keeping their children home.”
At JFK High School, 80 students had been absent Tuesday. The figure then rose through Thursday before declining slightly Friday.
“We don’t have an increase in faculty members out,” Astyk said.
The school has been communicating with parents and issuing notices about symptoms that should lead parents to keep their children at home.
Astyk said she hopes the three-day holiday weekend will help break the illness-spreading cycle at the school.
Principal Larry Ljungberg said in a letter to parents that the high school will remain open in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Erie County Health Department.
stan@buffnews.com and bobrien@buffnews.com
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