Fast-spreading flu virus takes toll on area schools

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- It sneaks up on you -- seemingly overnight. It leaves you feeling drained as your temperature rises. For some it can lead to vomiting or diarrhea. It spreads quickly and silently. And it has taken over many local schools.

This flu-like virus has led to the closing of the Doniphan school system for the rest of this week and the Ripley County (Gatewood) system Wednesday. It has also taken a toll on attendance at other local schools.

No one at Doniphan or Ripley County schools was available for comment at press time.

Ripley County (Lone Star) school system reported Wednesday morning that 32 out of 148 students were absent.

"We are down to about 78 percent of our total enrollment," said Ligie Waddell, assistant principal. "Yesterday there were only a few students out so it seems to have spread quickly."

Waddell said that students were experiencing fever and general body aches.

"Those who have called in have said that their children's temperatures were up to 102 or 103 degrees," said Waddell. "That's pretty high."

Naylor superintendent Steve Cookson said that his school system hasn't been hit yet.

"We are very near normal, especially for this time of year," Cookson said. "We are monitoring the situation closely because many of our neighboring schools have been affected by this. So far, we have seen no significant spike in absenteeism."

"We have seen a drop in attendance," said Neelyville superintendent Randy Graves. "I don't have the exact percentages but I would say that we are running two to three times what our normal absentee rate would be.

"Our elementary schools seem to be getting hit worse than our high school," Graves continued.

The Poplar Bluff school district has suffered a 5 percent drop in attendance so far.

"Our normal attendance for this time of year is 94.2 percent," said Randy Winston, superintendent. "As of Tuesday, our attendance was down to 89 percent. That is somewhat significant but not major."

Winston said attendance would have to drop below 80 percent before the district would consider canceling classes.

"It would need to be considerably lower before we would disrupt the learning process," said Winston.

Districts such as Puxico, Van Buren and Twin Rivers have reported that their attendance hasn't suffered as yet.