AREA SCHOOLS BATTLE BUGS AS WINTER ILLNESSES SET IN

Flu-like symptoms are being blamed for a wave of absences at two Cape Girardeau elementary schools.

A third of May Greene School's 220 students were absent Tuesday. Twelve students were sent home from school sick, bringing to 75 the total number of students absent.

On Friday, only 3 of the 18 students were present in one first-grade class.

The news is not as bad proportionally at Franklin School, where 70 of the school's 405 students were absent Tuesday. But a typical number of absences is 15-18, school nurse Mary Ann Hoffman said.

Hoffman, who also is the nurse at May Greene, cautioned that the illnesses have not been diagnosed as flu. "Lots of viruses are going around," she said.

When that happens, elementary school students are more likely to get them than older students are, Hoffman said, because "kids do share things more."

The panoply of symptoms, also being experienced to a lesser degree by students at other schools in the system, include headaches, nasal congestion, sore throat, cough and chest congestion, cramps, and some vomiting and diarrhea.

"We don't know what it is," said May Greene principal Sam Jarrell.

"They all have the same symptoms," said secretary Claire Campbell. "They don't feel good."

Schultz School, Central Junior High School and Central High School reported about average absences Tuesday, but the school nurses were kept busy by students with flu-like symptoms.

"Today has been real crazy," said Jeanne Heise, the nurse at Central High. "We've had a lot of upper respiratory infections, coughs, colds, tightening in the chest."

Some smaller districts in Southeast Missouri closed their schools Tuesday to contain the spread of flu from student to student.

But Richard Bollwerk, director of elementary education for the Cape Girardeau Public Schools, said the containment strategy generally won't work for a larger district because employees and students come and go between a number of different buildings.

At Jefferson School, nurse Pam Stovall said absences were higher than usual and "going up." She had treated five students with upset stomachs and fever Tuesday.

Absences at Clippard School Tuesday numbered 27 out of an enrollment of 487. "We've got some sick ones," said a secretary.

Thirty students were sick at Washington School, which a secretary said was about normal for this time of year.

At Alma Schrader, 28 of the 578 students were absent Tuesday, a higher number than usual. Sue Keesee, the school secretary, said four students who were throwing up were sent home.

"We hope we aren't going to get (the flu)," Keesee said. "Ordinarily it comes in waves."

A secretary at Nell Holcomb School on Route 1 said 23 of the school's 285 students were absent Tuesday. Two of them were sent home from school sick. "We're wondering if it's coming," she said.

Jarrell, principal at May Greene, said there's little the school can do about the sicknesses at this point except wait them out. "We use it as an opportunity to individualize our work. We work with the situation," he said.

Nurse Hoffman said there are things students can do to try to prevent coming down with something:

Do not share food and drink, and wash hands regularly. "All these viruses are airborne," Hoffman said.

Get plenty of rest, eat well and drink lot of liquids to flush out your system.

"And that may not do it," she said.

If symptoms persist after taking over-the-counter medicines, she advised seeing a physician because antibiotics may be required.