MONROE - Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy received a thorough disinfecting over the weekend and will remain open, despite three young students being infected with E. coli 0157, a school official said Sunday.
Early last week, two students from Abe Lincoln were confirmed to have E. coli 0157. A third case is suspected to be E. coli.
Two of those students are in the 4-year-old kindergarten program and another is a kindergarten student at the school, Monroe Superintendent Larry Brown said in an Alert Now message sent to parents Sunday afternoon. The Alert Now system updates parents of announcements via phone message and e-mails.
In his message, Brown said the district "takes this matter very seriously, and is taking extra steps to ensure the safety of all of our students." Over the weekend, custodians disinfected 4K and kindergarten classrooms, as well as bathrooms, common areas such as hallways, cafeteria and LMC, and playground equipment.
Brown also said the district determined it was not necessary to close the school. "After consulting with state and county health officials, it has been determined that the best course of action is to keep Abraham Lincoln open and continue these vigorous cleaning practices until we have eliminated the threat of (E. coli)," he said.
The Wisconsin Division of Public Health and Green County Health Department are asking parents to test all 4K and kindergarten students at Abe Lincoln for E. coli. Free test kits are available at the Green County Health Department, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Kits are also available at the Abe Lincoln school nurse's office during school hours. More information is available on the district's website at monroeschools.com.
The recent cases come after nine people, mostly children, in Green County were infected with E. coli during August and early September. One 20-month-old child died as a result of E. coli infection.
Health officials have not been able to pinpoint a common source of infection in the cases.
E. coli O157 is a bacterium that infects the intestinal tract and may produce a toxin that affects other parts of the body. Symptoms include diarrhea, often bloody, and severe abdominal cramps and will typically appear three to four days following exposure to the bacteria. Some people may become infected but do not have symptoms.
Early last week, two students from Abe Lincoln were confirmed to have E. coli 0157. A third case is suspected to be E. coli.
Two of those students are in the 4-year-old kindergarten program and another is a kindergarten student at the school, Monroe Superintendent Larry Brown said in an Alert Now message sent to parents Sunday afternoon. The Alert Now system updates parents of announcements via phone message and e-mails.
In his message, Brown said the district "takes this matter very seriously, and is taking extra steps to ensure the safety of all of our students." Over the weekend, custodians disinfected 4K and kindergarten classrooms, as well as bathrooms, common areas such as hallways, cafeteria and LMC, and playground equipment.
Brown also said the district determined it was not necessary to close the school. "After consulting with state and county health officials, it has been determined that the best course of action is to keep Abraham Lincoln open and continue these vigorous cleaning practices until we have eliminated the threat of (E. coli)," he said.
The Wisconsin Division of Public Health and Green County Health Department are asking parents to test all 4K and kindergarten students at Abe Lincoln for E. coli. Free test kits are available at the Green County Health Department, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Kits are also available at the Abe Lincoln school nurse's office during school hours. More information is available on the district's website at monroeschools.com.
The recent cases come after nine people, mostly children, in Green County were infected with E. coli during August and early September. One 20-month-old child died as a result of E. coli infection.
Health officials have not been able to pinpoint a common source of infection in the cases.
E. coli O157 is a bacterium that infects the intestinal tract and may produce a toxin that affects other parts of the body. Symptoms include diarrhea, often bloody, and severe abdominal cramps and will typically appear three to four days following exposure to the bacteria. Some people may become infected but do not have symptoms.