Visitation students were back in the classroom Monday after the Kewanee school briefly closed due to an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease, according to Superintendent of Catholic Schools Sharon Weiss.
Weiss said she ultimately made the decision to close the school to students and conduct classes online for three days last week.
“I asked Principal (Wayne) Brau to close and disinfect the entire building for three days and provide remote learning. Extracurricular activities were also canceled per our school policy,” Dr. Weiss said in a statement to the Star Courier.
Principal Brau was also in communication with the local public health department as well as the diocesan Office of the Catholic Schools. The pre-K classrooms were affected and there appeared to be some cases beginning to occur throughout the grade levels among students, teachers and staff members, Weiss stated. According to the information provided by the Henry and Stark County Health Departments, the incubation period for hand, foot and mouth disease is five days.
The decision to shut down the school was in concern for families, whose siblings or parents might have been affected and in consideration of the highly infectious nature of the disease, Dr. Weiss said.
“I also gave due consideration to the shortage of substitute teachers in the area that many of our schools are experiencing. When one or more teachers reported being infected with the disease themselves, or the need to stay home with children who were infected, the burden on the remaining faculty and staff was factored into my decision,” the Superintendent’s statement said.
“Hand, foot and mouth disease is a highly contagious viral infection that commonly affects kids ages five and under. However, anyone can become sickened, especially those residing in close living environments, such as on college campuses. Hand, foot and mouth disease is most commonly caused by a Coxsackievirus. Most outbreaks in the U.S. occur in summer or fall,” according to information provided by Dr. Weiss from Dr. Pritish Tosh, an Infectious Disease Specialist with the Mayo Clinic.
Symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease include painful sores on the hands and feet and on the inside of the mouth. Red blister-like lesions can appear on the tongue, gums and inside of the cheeks. Some infected people may also develop a red rash without itching, but sometimes with blistering on the palms of their hands, soles of their feet or buttocks.
The virus that causes HFM disease is often spread person to person contact with an infected person’s nasal secretions, throat discharge, saliva, stool or respiratory droplets. It also can be spread through fluid from blisters.
Although a child is most contagious with hand, foot and mouth disease during the first week of the illness, the virus can remain in the body for weeks after signs and symptoms are gone.
There is no vaccine to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease, but frequent hand-washing and avoiding close contact with people who are infected with HFM disease may reduce risk of infection. Most people recover without any intervention, and hospitalization is rare.
Close contact is “great breeding grounds for an outbreak,” according to Dr. Tosh, since the virus is spread by person-to-person contact, and young children are most susceptible. Adults especially can pass the virus without showing any signs or symptoms of the disease.
Dr. Weiss said the best advice and preventive measures possible for those experiencing signs and symptoms associated with HFM disease is to stay home while infectious.
Visitation Catholic School serves area students from pre-K through eighth grade and has an enrollment of approximately 150 students.