The flu could be the reason nearly 150 students were absent from a Cobb County school Tuesday.
At Dodgen Middle School in Marietta, 148 students were absent, district spokeswoman Donna Lowry said. Of them, 20 were reported to have the flu, Channel 2 Action News reported.
“Of course, all the absences are not flu-related,” Lowry said. “We do not know how many are confirmed flu cases. Parents do not have to report it.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, February, March and December are the most prevalent months for the flu.
The number of absent students is unusually high considering the school typically has between 2 and 5 percent absentees, Lowry said. Eleven percent of the school’s 1,276 students were reported absent this week.
The school had 114 students out Monday, she said.
Some of the flu cases coincide with a recent trip that orchestra students took to Walt Disney World, officials said. Eight students from that trip reported having the flu over a three-day period, Channel 2 reported.
In a letter to parents, principal Loralee Hill said the school was sanitized before students arrived Monday to prevent spreading the virus.
“We have made daily announcements to the student body to wash their hands with soap and water throughout the day,” Hill said, “and teachers are reiterating this message.”
Hill also encouraged parents to take precautions against flu symptoms and keep students who may have it at home.
Dodgen wasn’t the only Cobb school that had a possible flu epidemic.
In Kennesaw, nearly 100 students were absent at McClure Middle School, the Cobb County Health Department told Channel 2, but it is not known how many had the flu.
Lowry said more students were out the previous week. No letter was sent home to parents.
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