Health officials have expressed “full confidence” in the safety of Galena Elementary School and have encouraged school officials to keep the doors open in the wake of an
E. coli infection that has stricken seven students and possibly more.
Based on numbers, however, it’s clear some parents aren’t taking chances.
The school reported 55 students absent on Tuesday, a day after 43 students called in sick. The Tuesday absences represent about 14 percent of the student body at the kindergarten through fifth-grade school. Absences at the school are typically around the 2 percent mark for the year, according to data kept by the state Department of Education.
In a letter sent home to parents Tuesday, health officials instructed parents to only keep children home from school or day care if the child has had diarrhea in the last 24 hours.
Health officials believe the weekend likely interrupted the transmission of E. coli among students, and have reported that the most recent case was contracted on Sept. 17.
The first case of the E. coli infection was confirmed by the health department Friday. School officials brought in extra custodians and nurses to clean every surface and school buses as a precaution.
A source of the infection — most commonly transmitted through the ingestion of food contaminated with fecal material, including inadequately cooked beef, produce and unpasteurized dairy products or cider — has not been identified.
Bill Briscoe, assistant superintendent for operations and administration, said Monday that while the school facility has been deemed safe, no causes have been ruled out.
State officials are sending three more specialists to Floyd County to try to determine the cause — two food experts and an epidemiologist, The Evening News and The Tribune’s newsgathering partner WLKY-TV in Louisville reported.
One of the students, 6-year-old Sidney Jacobi, now needs dialysis because her kidneys are failing from the infection, according to WLKY.
Floyd County
Seventh E. coli case confirmed in Floyd County
- Floyd County
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The Extra Milers: Teaching by example
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New Albany murder suspect held without bond
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Co-founder of Harvest Homecoming Festival dies
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New Albany puts EMC on notice
- News and Tribune briefs for Feb. 3, 2012
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Cigar shop, pizza parlor among new businesses in the area
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Feds seize nearly $5M in phony Super Bowl swag
Agents targeted stores, flea markets and street vendors that allegedly sold counterfeit game-related sportswear. Fake jerseys, ball caps, T-shirts, jackets and other souvenirs were among the 42,000 items confiscated in Operation Fake Sweep.
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$40K Mega Millions prize remains unclaimed
The owner of the winning ticket has 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim his or her prize and can claim it at one of the Hoosier Lottery regional offices in Evansville or South Bend, or at Hoosier Lottery headquarters in Indianapolis.
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Four cab company employees arrested for drug offenses
The NAPD’s FLEX unit obtained more information that led to the arrest of two more cab company employees in the 2100 block of East Spring Street in New Albany at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
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Area unemployment rate relatively unchanged
On a positive note, the Louisville Metro Statistical Area added more than 20,000 jobs from the end of 2010 to December 2011.
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