Chicago area schools try to stop sickness from spreading

OAK PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- Oak Park Elementary School District 97 officials hope a massive overnight cleaning will stop an outbreak after about 600 students and staff called in sick on Monday from ten schools.

Tuesday, nearly 700 either called in or went home sick. Most of the sick calls are from the district's two middle schools. Almost 10 percent of the school district is sick.

School officials say they do not believe they will need to close schools on Wednesday but are still closely monitoring attendance numbers.

"If we feel like we need to close school to prevent the spread, whether it be the flu, strep throat, the common cold. That's something we'll certainly pursue," Chris Jasculca, district spokesperson, said.

Saint Benedict Preparatory School in Chicago had 12 percent of its students out sick on Tuesday, mostly elementary school students.

Even teachers are getting sick. Kindergarten teacher Kaylee Tarris had to call a substitute last week, and a quarter of her students are out sick Tuesday. She To help prevent the illness from spreading, she is cleaning surfaces multiple times a day and teaching students ways to stay healthy, like good hand washing.

Lurie Children's Hospital is seeing a near-record number of patients this flu season. Dr. Steven Krug, head of the ER division at Lurie, says children with pre-existing conditions may be more at risk if they get the flu, but generally healthy kids who get sick can be cared for at home.

The widespread sickness in Oak Park comes a week after a similar deep clean at Nazareth Academy in west suburban LaGrange Park., where nearly a quarter of its student body and staff called in sick last Monday.

Nazareth was closed for two days.