Mystery illness sends Detroit school into cleaning drive as preschooler dies
A number of other students at Marcus Garvey Academy developed fever and started throwing up, leading to the shutdown of school
May 06, 2023
A mystery illness causing flu-like symptoms has forced a Detroit elementary school to go into hyper cleaning drive with everything the disinfectant services market could offer after a preschooler succumbed to the disease, CBS reported.
Initially, the little boy appeared to have symptoms consistent with a viral cold, but the cause of death is yet to be established, according to officials.
A number of other students developed fever and started throwing up, leading to the shutdown of school for a thorough and rigorous disinfection drive.
The Detroit Health Department is keeping tabs on the situation in Marcus Garvey Academy and officials have been fielded to review the school’s disinfecting protocols.
Despite complete disinfection, not all parents are ready to send their children back to school.
"That's good that they cleaned up the school, but we're still trying to see who all got it," Theodore Burton, whose two daughters attend Marcus Garvey, told CBS.
Burton, like others, seeks answers to questions like what caused so many children to fall ill at the same time. "We're trying to see whether it's the flu, COVID, the allergy season," Burton said. "We're just really worried."
Parents of children, 4-7, have been advised to rush their children to doctors as soon as they develop symptoms like fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain.
"It typically spreads by respiratory droplets. So someone coughs, and they could cough into their hand, and they touch that cough onto a surface, and those droplets, if they come in contact with someone else, can help to spread that flu virus," said Dr Tiffney Widner, of the Children's Hospital of Michigan, told CBS.
Burton, as he keeps an eye on his daughters for any symptoms, and hopes the school district and health department come up with an explanation of the situation so that they could send their children to school on Monday.
"We just want everybody just be OK. Be safe. That's the main thing," Burton told CBS.
