Detroit public health officials are investigating an outbreak of unexplained illness at an elementary and middle school after a kindergarten student died.
Detroit Public Schools Community District said on wednesday The school, Marcus Garvey Academy, “experiences an unusually high rate of flu-like symptoms, including fever and vomiting in students, at the lower grade level.”
Since the cause of death in kindergarten children has not been confirmed, the association with infection is not yet known.
The Detroit Department of Health said: in a statement Wednesday without confirming the cause of the illness. Parents and caregivers were advised to be aware of several symptoms including fever, headache, lethargy, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain in children aged 4 to 7.
Garvey Academy will be closed until Monday for a major cleaning, the statement said.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services referred questions about the outbreak to the Detroit Department of Health, but did not respond to requests for comment.Wayne County also did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Dr. Kevin Daisy, a pediatrician at Michigan Children’s Hospital, said the continued circulation of the respiratory virus, which tends to peak in the winter, may be driving the school outbreak. . He noted that children are spending more time indoors this spring because Detroit is still exposed to winter weather.
“Certainly, this is a little later in the season, and it’s not unheard of that we might see another wave of viral respiratory illness,” Dazy said.
His hospital did not see any patients linked to the Garvey Academy outbreak, but the illness the school reported did not surprise him.
“Of course, one child can be very contagious to other children in the class if they are in a confined area such as a classroom,” he said.
Daisy added that it’s hard to know why the cause of the outbreak hasn’t been identified yet, but doctors may be testing less for respiratory viruses during the off-peak season, which could delay diagnosis. pointed out.
In another incident this week, a Detroit day care facility was temporarily closed Wednesday for cleaning due to an outbreak of hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
Daycare, Focus: The Hope Center for Children said it had identified 17 cases as of Tuesday.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is easily spread by coughing or sneezing droplets or by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects. It is common in infants and her children under the age of 5 and usually presents with symptoms such as fever, mouth sores and rashes.
Kindergartens will reopen on Monday.
