School closed by sickness bug
A DEVON primary school was forced to close its doors yesterday and cancel lessons after more than two-thirds of its students fell ill with a mystery stomach bug.
So far, 54 out of a total 74 pupils at Cockwood Primary School, between Dawlish and Exeter, have been struck down by the illness. The children are aged between four and 11.
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Youngsters reported suffering from stomach complaints early yesterday morning.
Symptoms included diarrhoea and sickness, similar to the Norovirus.
However, school officials would only describe the outbreak at the site as a "sickness bug".
Staff were also affected with symptoms with two out of the three full-time members of staff being laid low with the infection.
Four pupils at the school were also confirmed to have contracted swine flu.
School premises will remain closed today and tomorrow before reopening as usual on Thursday morning.
In the meantime, a team of specialist cleaners will be on hand at the site to carry out a deep clean and disinfection operation before youngsters return to lessons.
A spokesman for the school said the outbreak was not serious.
She added: "We think it could be a sickness bug, but it is nothing too serious for the children.
"We decided it was necessary to close the school for a few days to give the whole building a thorough clean."
Many children who were in a position to be picked up by parents, carers or guardians were sent home yesterday lunchtime by members of staff to recuperate.
However, because not all of the children were able to be picked up until the end of the school day, a section of the school had to stay open until the usual going home time.
A spokesman for Devon County Council confirmed the number of pupils struck down by the illness and said school leaders took the step of closing the site in a bid to prevent further spread of the infection.
He said: "The decision to close the school would have been taken by the chair of governors and the headteacher, then the council is informed.
"We have been told the school will reopen as normal on Thursday."
The spokesman added that cleaning staff would spend the next 48 hours carrying out a "considerable" and "much more intensive" deep clean to clear any bugs which are still lurking in the building. One woman, who asked not to be named, told the Western Morning News that her granddaughter was a pupil at the school but had been kept home yesterday as she was coming down with sickness.
She said: "I believe there have been a lot of children who have come down with something in the last few days."
Another resident, who also asked not to be named, said: "There's been a bit of talk in the village that everyone's dropping like flies with this bug. We're only a small village so this kind of thing spreads."
5 Comments
by TimV, pz
Wednesday, December 16 2009, 4:45PM
“Before the decision was taken to "deep clean" the school, with so many children and staff affected, why was no attempt made, apparently, to discover the cause? This can be done by enquiring into common factors of diet, sampling of food consumed, swabbing surfaces and taking faecal samples of those affected. Without this information it is impossible to come to a conclusion as to cause, make suggestions to prevent reoccurrence or make wider conclusions as to its danger or cause. If it was particular food product for example, it may go elsewhere to vulnerable people. If this was not done, why not?”
by Anon, Cockwood
Wednesday, December 16 2009, 1:06PM
“The apology is much appreciated.
Although the article is talking about a stomach bug this is just one of the illnesses circulating. I feel that it is important to point out that it was purely an issue of timing with many children suffering from coughs, colds, minor temperatures and ear aches etc, all around the same time. I also think it is important to point out the school was not shut down by environmental health it was a decision made by governors and the school purely for infection control. A wise decision in my eyes!
With lots of children in a confined space infections of this kind will still be passed on not matter how many times they wash their hands.”
by Dr Pedant, Devon
Tuesday, December 15 2009, 6:55PM
“I am sorry if I have caused offence, Anon of Cockwood, but the article was mainly about a stomach bug. It is indisputable that hand washing is extremely important in curtailing such bugs (and can in fact help to contain infectious diseases like swine flu).
I am sure all the parents at the school are conscientious about teaching their children to wash their hands, although they must be a very good bunch if absolutely all of them are so conscientious. Children of primary school are are unfortunately notorious for forgetting to wash hands, eager as they are to be doing something else.
I did not mean to imply that the whole outbreak was due to poor hygiene, and in fact most of my comments related to adult men in public urinals.”
by Anon, Cockwood
Tuesday, December 15 2009, 2:42PM
“My children go to this school and I find the above comment very offensive. There are a mixture of illnesses at the school and not just a sickness bug! I am not aware that you can catch swin flu from dirty underpants!! These are children who are brought up with respect for hygeine both in and out of school.”
by Dr Pedant, Devon
Tuesday, December 15 2009, 12:04PM
“If children were taught to wash their hands after going to the lavatory, both number ones and number twos, these infections wouldn't spread so rapidly. In fact most people should do so - in my experience about half of men do not wash their hands after using a urinal, despite research showing that the number of bacteria on a man's fingers increases by a factor of 10 after urinating. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to work out how faecal bacteria might find their way around the front within the cosy warmth of one's underpants!”