Cook County health officials say dozens of students at a suburban elementary school who became ill after what was believed to have been a flu outbreak, may not have been sickened by the flu at all.
With many students at Robinson Elementary in Lyons calling in sick after experiencing symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, school officials decided to cancel classes Thursday, citing “a large number of absences due to flu.”
According to a statement on the school’s Facebook page, "School will be closed so that the custodial staff can conduct a deep cleaning of the entire school."
On Friday, the Cook County Department of Public Health said the flu virus wasn’t to blame for the illnesses, instead attributing the sicknesses to the norovirus.
Norovirus is a different bug entirely and officials say it is easily spread because it can live on surfaces for up to 12 days.
“This is a very hardy virus, it is very highly contagious,” said Terry Mason with the Cook County Department of Public Health.
Over the weekend, school officials plan to take extra precautions, even cleaning another area school.
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“What we’ll be doing over the weekend is giving the George Washington Middle School a cleaning with the bleach and water as well,” said Lyons District 103 Superintendent Mary Jo Vladika.
Health authorities say what’s being done at schools is what parents need to do at home as well, because it’s the season for the norovirus.
“Make sure you use a solution that contains bleach to clean the surfaces of your house,” Mason said.
While the norovirus is often mistaken for the stomach flu, officials say it is a different virus for which there is no vaccine.
Health authorities advise those with the virus to stay home until all symptoms are gone for at least a day or two.
