04 September 2003: UPDATE - All leaving Certificate students at NAAS CBS were sent home this morning until next Monday, following the outbreak of an illness which still hasn't been fully identified.
The illness, which involves severe flu-like symptoms and high temperatures, was first noticed two days ago. School Principal Noel Merrick said this morning that no decision has yet been made whether to close the school or not.
Mr Merrick has been 'in close contact' with the South Western Area Health Board, who are consulting with Naas Hospital following the admission of a number of students.
"The Environmental Health Officer is involved as well," he said. "They are checking the water supply but we don't think that is the problem. We have agreed that if it is only affecting Sixth Year, then the water is unlikely to be responsible."
EARLIER: Tests on a schoolboy admitted to Naas General Hospital on Tuesday night show he is not suffering from bacterial meningitis. However, 12 students from Naas CBS Secondary School, mostly Leaving Certificate, were admitted to Naas General Hospital last night with flu-like systems including a high temperature.
After visiting the pupils in hospital last night, school principal Noel Merrick said all were in a stable condition.
“Two other pupils were fully admitted during the day yesterday,” he told KNN.
There is now an ‘isolated’ ward for Naas CBS pupils, as the hospital has opened up a ward specially for them.
Other boys are suffering flu-like symptoms at home and the school principal is anxious for their parents to contact their family doctors.
“It was mostly 6th Year students that were effected, but there were some junior boys also. We checked the rolls yesterday and found there were 27 boys out sick out of 156 Leaving Cert students. Then, as the morning went on, a lot more became ill and we phoned their parents. There was a fear of meningitis, but the only tests back so far on the first boy admitted show it is not bacterial meningitis,” Mr Merrick said.
He had spent all day yesterday ‘looking for information on the illness from the Health Board’. “There is obviously a common thread. We are waiting for the test results this morning on the other boys.”
Mr Merrick said he is aware that up to 40 pupils ‘are definitely ill’. Following his visit to the hospital last night, he told KNN: “I saw some boys in hospital who had been in school all day. That’s very worrying.”
Mr Merrick is telephoning parents whose sons were out of school yesterday to alert them that ‘it’s not just a simple incident and to seek medical advice’.
The school remains open until further notice.
