Dozens of students are still out at five Vancouver Public Schools elementary campuses, and Battle Ground Public Schools issued a letter to parents at Laurin Middle School after a large group of students there called out sick.
Vancouver added Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School, 2921 Falk Road, Vancouver, to the list of schools it’s monitoring as students call out with flulike symptoms or symptoms of viral gastroenteritis. Of the school’s 607 students, 72 called out Monday.
At Walnut Grove Elementary School, 99 of the school’s approximately 750 students were out sick, up from 91 on Friday.
At Harney Elementary School, 80 of the school’s 650 students called out sick, down from 96 on Friday. Truman Elementary School also saw a slight reprieve, with 80 of the school’s 520 students calling out, down from 88 on Friday.
The situation eased up significantly at Washington Elementary School, where 18 students called out compared with Friday’s 65.
Walnut Grove, Harney, Truman and Washington were cleaned and disinfected over the weekend, district spokeswoman Pat Nuzzo said.
To the north, meanwhile, about 10 percent of the 723 students who attend Laurin Middle School called out sick Friday due to symptoms of viral gastroenteritis, district spokeswoman Rita Sanders said. When 10 percent of students call out with either viral gastroenteritis or flulike symptoms, Clark County Public Health asks that districts alert parents of the high rates of illness.
Evergreen Public Schools has not seen similar outbreaks of illness, district spokeswoman Gail Spolar said.
Parents are advised to keep children sick with vomiting and diarrhea at home until they’re well for a full 24 hours, according to district messages sent by Vancouver Public Schools last week. The note also emphasizes the importance of handwashing, particularly before preparing food and after using the toilet.
There is no vaccine for viral gastroenteritis, despite commonly being nicknamed the “stomach flu.” For the prevention of influenza, however, Clark County Public Health advises everyone 6 months and older receive a flu vaccine.
Clark County is in active flu season, with 32.3 percent of influenza tests reporting positive for the illness as of two weeks ago.
