Unknown Illness Strikes 100+ Students in North Carolina: How Common Are ‘Mystery’ Outbreaks?
Vomiting, diarrhea, and fever have hit students and staff at schools in North Carolina. (Photo: Getty Images/Cintascotch)
More than 100 students and teachers in a North Carolina school district were sent home this week after exhibiting signs of a mystery illness.
At least 84 students at Person High School and six staff members were sent home with “virus type symptoms,” Person County School Superintendent Danny Holloman told ABC News. Another 20 students from two nearby elementary schools were also sent home with the same symptoms — vomiting, diarrhea, and fever.
Officials don’t know what’s behind the outbreak, and they’ve reached out to the local health department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for help.
This isn’t the first time a North Carolina school has been involved in a “mystery” outbreak. In May, an unknown illness caused one-third of the students at Shiloh Elementary School to stay home.
While the idea of an unknown illness causing an outbreak is slightly terrifying, William Schaffner, MD, chairman of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Department of Preventative Medicine, tells Yahoo Health it actually happens more often than you’d think.
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“These kinds of outbreaks are fairly common across the country,” he says. “We don’t always know what the cause of an outbreak is on the first few days, but once the investigation unfurls, we’ll usually find out.”
The problem in determining the cause of the illness right away, Schaffner says, is that there are many reasons people could have developed these particular symptoms. Those include norovirus (aka the “cruise ship virus”), enterovirus, or a food-borne illness that could have infected the school district’s food supply.
As a result, an outbreak can be due to a “mystery” illness for days or even weeks until experts are able to accurately determine its cause.
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Board-certified infectious disease specialist Amesh A. Adalja, MD, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, tells Yahoo Health that he suspects norovirus is to blame because it exhibits the same symptoms and can spread “very rapidly” in a population.
Norovirus infects people quickly and easily, he says, and it can be spread through vomit particles that become suspended in the air. Those particles can also land on surfaces like desks and chairs, where they can infect people in the vicinity.
However, there isn’t a good, readily available test for norovirus, making it likely it will stay a mystery illness until the CDC or another government agency conducts an investigation, Adalja says.
So, what should you do if you find yourself in the midst of a mystery outbreak? Experts say it’s crucial to wash your hands well and often. Some viruses are fairly resistant to alcohol-based sanitizers, Adalja says, making good old-fashioned hand-washing especially crucial.
It’s also a good idea to avoid people who are sick as much as possible. Says Adalja: “If you see somebody vomiting or getting sick, go the other way. You could contract the disease just by being in the vicinity.”
And finally, if you see something, say something. The best way to shut down an outbreak is to report symptoms of an illness so officials can take action, says Adalja — whether you or someone around you exhibits them.
Person County school officials said the schools would be cleaned overnight and classes are expected to resume as usual.
Mystery illness strikes over 100 N.C. students
Officials are baffled by the outbreak, which has also sent home a handful of teachers.
'Virus-type symptoms'