Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott announced Wednesday that Babylon High School officials alerted the Department of Health Services after more than 80 students were absent from school on Friday, March 17 due to gastrointestinal diseases.
Officials said that public health experts visited the school to inspect the kitchen and food service areas and found no indication that the outbreak originated in the school's cafeteria.
Although laboratory tests have not yet confirmed the cause of the outbreak, Dr. Pigott said norovirus is suspected as the cause.
“Norovirus has been circulating in the United States for the past several months, as it does every year, although the CDC reported an increase in cases, compared to our COVID-19 pandemic years in February,” Pigott said. "We advise people to continue to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and to disinfect surfaces to avoid coming into contact with the pathogens that cause norovirus."
Norovirus is the leading cause of vomiting, diarrhea and foodborne illness in the United States. It is spread through direct contact with a person with norovirus, most often by sharing food or eating food that is handled.
People can also get norovirus by touching surfaces touched by someone who has the virus. Officials say people are most contagious when they are sick with norovirus and for a few days after they feel better.
The symptoms of norovirus illness begin suddenly, usually about 12 to 48 hours after a person is exposed to the virus, and pass within two to three days.
The most common symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and stomach pain. Other symptoms include fever, headache, and body aches. There is no treatment for norovirus, the county health department said.
The health department said they are investigating the outbreak.
“We have spoken to the families of many of the children who became infected and are pleased that the outbreak has been largely contained in the secondary school, with only a few cases in students from other schools in the district,” said Dr. Shaheda Iftikhar, deputy chief health commissioner and director of the department's division of public health.
