School Illness Baffles Doctors
Michelle Lang, with files from Jason Fekete
Calgary Herald
Alaska Highway News
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Calgary, Alberta (Canada):
A mysterious sickness has struck 182 students from a southwest Catholic school, sending them home Tuesday to fight fever, aches and a nasty cough in what could be Calgary's first influenza outbreak of the year.
News of the sickness -- which sent absenteeism at St. Stephen School to 33 per cent -- left medical officials scrambling to identify the bug and had Alberta's health minister trying to allay fears of a pandemic.Students like Luke McCorquodale armed themselves Tuesday with ginger ale, Popsicles and stacks of movies as they battled sore throats and other symptoms.The St. Stephen outbreak, which hit 158 students on Monday and 24 more the next day, could signal the beginning of a worrisome flu season.
Calgary Health Region officials said the only unusual aspect of the case is the number of students who have fallen ill, which is higher than normal.The outbreak began Monday, when St. Stephen School officials noticed a large number of students calling in sick or heading home with flu-like symptoms. By the end of the day, 158 pupils were off school.
Nov 16, 2005
Michelle Lang, with files from Jason Fekete
Calgary Herald
Alaska Highway News
________________
Calgary, Alberta (Canada):
A mysterious sickness has struck 182 students from a southwest Catholic school, sending them home Tuesday to fight fever, aches and a nasty cough in what could be Calgary's first influenza outbreak of the year.
News of the sickness -- which sent absenteeism at St. Stephen School to 33 per cent -- left medical officials scrambling to identify the bug and had Alberta's health minister trying to allay fears of a pandemic.Students like Luke McCorquodale armed themselves Tuesday with ginger ale, Popsicles and stacks of movies as they battled sore throats and other symptoms.The St. Stephen outbreak, which hit 158 students on Monday and 24 more the next day, could signal the beginning of a worrisome flu season.
Calgary Health Region officials said the only unusual aspect of the case is the number of students who have fallen ill, which is higher than normal.The outbreak began Monday, when St. Stephen School officials noticed a large number of students calling in sick or heading home with flu-like symptoms. By the end of the day, 158 pupils were off school.
Nov 16, 2005
