Flu blamed for school absences

Music concert canceled to reduce risk of transmission among students, community

MOSES LAKE — The presence of influenza is thought to be responsible for high absentee rates at some schools in the Moses Lake School District.

Within the last two weeks; attendance numbers at Chief Moses and Frontier middle schools were significantly lower than usual, following several reports of students with flu-like symptoms.

Red flags were raised last week at CMMS when 180 absences were reported for one school day. Not all of those were illness related.

CMMS principal Mark Johnson said on any given week between 50 and 70 absences are normal.

"Any time you're over 100 it grabs your attention," he said.

On Tuesday numbers reported by the FMS main office showed more than 130 students absent, down from the near 200 students who didn't show up for class Monday.

Monday's high number of absences, also not all confirmed to be related to influenza, resulted in the cancellation of a choir and band concert at FMS.

"We had nearly 30 percent of our students out sick Monday and the health district took action requiring us to cancel the concert in mind of public health," FMS principal Chris Lupo stated in a letter dated March 21 to parents.

The letter indicates parents will be notified at a later date when the concert is rescheduled.

MLSD special assistant to the superintendent P.J. De Benedetti said in the coming days, school and health district officials will be discussing whether or not to cancel other school-related activities which might pose a risk of transmitting influenza.

De Benedetti added that North Elementary was the only other school in the district with slightly high numbers of absences.

To minimize risk of transmission, health district and school staff are making an effort to minimize contact between students as they change class periods and socialize with classmates.

"Without knowing the complete physical set up of every school building, it's our best effort to keep children who may have the disease confined to their regular group, to limit the number of people any one student may expose to illness," said Peggy Grigg, Grant County Health District personal health services director.

Grigg mentioned some students have been showing symptoms of respiratory illnesses as well including a cough, pneumonia, runny nose and sore throat.

Hand washing, covering the mouth when coughing and staying at home if symptoms arise are being strongly encouraged to prevent further transmission.

Influenza is a viral infection which can be caused by three viruses. Influenza A usually results in larger outbreaks and is a virus that is continuously changing, whereas types B and C are often known for causing smaller outbreaks and milder illnesses.

Flu-like symptoms to watch for can include a fever, body ache, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat and lack of energy.

Grigg could not provide a count for the number of confirmed influenza cases within the schools or community as Washington state law does not require those figures to be reported.