400 absent from school due to Flu all on same day!!!

I haven't had the flu for some time now *knocks on wood*. But the schools here in Grayson County, Kentucky were closed down for 2 weeks because more than half the teachers, faculty, and students were out sick with the flu. It was weird going into normally busy stores and such, seeing only a very limited amount of people inside. I swear you could hear a pin drop in my area it was that silent around here. It scares my how bad the flu outbreak is this year.

Gee, 400 in one school, ouch. What I like is the bottom line, you don't have attendance up at school you don't get money. I have not heard anything about the flu here up in NY.

I am just now comming off of the NORVOVIRUS and my god I feel like I have been hit by a truck. I guess this norvovirus is a new strand of the flu that is very contagous and hits with real bad symptoms (trust mee I know I feel like hell). I could not believe that I got it since I have had my flu shot this year as always and the doctor said that the flu shot does not affect this strain of the flu. I can see how these kids can be all out of school if this is what they have since I got it from being around my nephew for only a short while. It is said that this is one of the most contagous strains there is of the flu. The Oregon State Hospital Portland campus was quarantined due to the norvovirus read: http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_012207_health_noro_hospital.d204863.html Well have a great day and I hope you do not get hit by this stuff as it is real bad!!

Wow! This is unbelievable! In Western NY state we have been seeing flu cases increasing over the past several weeks, but there has not been a big problem in the schools as of yet. I'm not sure of the rates of vaccination for flu, but I know that our County's Dept. of Health was really pushing for everyone to get flu shots this fall, including a big campaign for local family doctors and pediatricians to offer the shots as well as media attention to encourage parents to have their children vaccinated. It would be interesting to see how many younger people did receive the vaccine and compare the numbers of flu cases in different parts of the country categorized by age group. Anyways, I always get the shot every year because I work in the healthcare field and am exposed to flu.

Our local schools were closed last week due to the terrible absences secondary to the flu during the week prior. The schools here are paid $18 per day for each child in attandance. (I don't quite understand from whom they are paid...State of Fed Governmetn...but from someone!) When there are numerous absences, their income goes down so when it gets really bad like it was, they close the schools! I am currently battling the flu myself. This is the first time that I have had the flu in years. I just heard today that we now have a terrible GI bug going around town. I do hope that I don't get that one and that it doesn't get so bad as to shut the schools too!

My son and I haven't had the flu. My husband had the flu thanx to the military, they gave him the flumist and he felt like crap for a long time. It's terrible that they do that for men and women who serve out country, it's like a scheduled flu. We kept him quarantined away from us so we didn't catch it. My grandparents got the flu vaccine that everyone praises-they have been sick for 4 weeks now. They got fevers, aches, diarrhea, vomitting, you name it, they've got it. Really sad since they are in their 80's! Right now in the town I'm living in, the cold has hit us hard, for babies it's RSV, it's been in the news. My son had it for a few days, but it went away thankfully. Everyone I know has had explosive diarrhea (sorry for the graphic image) in the last few weeks. Tis the season to be snotty and feel like crap!

I'm not surprised other states are having this happen. I live in Tennessee and several counties have closed schools for a couple week due to a massive flu outbreak. Luckily it hasn't happened in my childrens' school system and they've been healthy. It's scary that flu is running rampant this season. Does the health department have any idea why flu is so prevelant this season?

I did not hear about this til you posted this information. It was really sad to hear that so many people caught the flu all at the same time and had to miss school. It is rare that this happens to so many kids at one time and hope that they will all be okay and get the proper treatment and rest. This is why when we start feeling ill we should report it right away so that others do not get sick too. It is not bad here so far as I only know a couple of people who have had it this winter so far. I have not had it myself yet and did not take the flu shot.

The last month or so here in the Nashville area, the different counties have been closing down the schools because of the flu. I guess they're ending up with 30-40% of the kids out sick, so they figure it's better to just close out school for a week. It's hit quite a few counties around where we live, but not ours-knock on wood lol. None of us here at home have had the flu, but I had my little bought with food poisoning, and we've passed around a nice sinus infection.

The flu went threw here but I didn't get it. I was hoping to though because then i usually loose weight and it's agreat excuse to just lay around all day with the heat on. Most people just got the chest cold with flem and somtimes a stuffy nose. Most of my friends were done with it in a few days. One friend had it for a few weeks.

Wow! That is a lot of people!! :) I am in High School and I was in school the other day and in a class that is usually full with at least 28 people was now only about 12! What a big difference!! :) Well, now a couple days later, there is only 3 back. And, some days it is just as bad as that in other classes. I live in the same area as you do, so I guess that would be a yes to the question if the flu season has hit. I think in this area it is just quieter because everyone is in bed grabbing those tissues, and watching television with red puffy eyes! :) Poor them! I have not gotten the flu yet, and I hope that I do not. Or, any of my brothers or sisters...because then it would just pass on to everyone!! :D Stay away from the FLU, Don't BUG Me! :P

Good grief that's more than an epidemic it's more like a plague .. sounds more than just a plain 'flu' to me .. for so many children to come down with it at one time it's probably one of those really infectious viruses .. It must have seemed very quiet in the school with so many pupils missing .. makes you wonder how many folks in the town have it .. youngsters and the old folks always seem hardest hit by these 'mass' outbreaks as they haven't the same resistance to them as other folks .. I do hope they all start feeling better soon ..

damn this is so much funny.. I have never seen 400 kids remaning absent on the same day.... When I was in the high school in michigan, the most number of students absent were like 120... with our school having a population of 1000 and more students.... so it was nothing....but 400 is a lot... I am not sure how many kids were in the Oklahoma School...

that is quite alarming.. hope its not an epidemic or something..

Here in Ky we have had alot of kids out of school because the buses can't run up the hollers and they areonly running on the main roads because the roads are iced and snowed over. So alot of them are out my sister only had 7 people in her class out of 26.

That is amazing. Of course, a lively flu bug has no trouble traveling around a school. Unfortunate it is, but hopefully no legislator will try to save the day with new laws and legislation. These things happen. I bet the janitor was happy that those 400 sick kids were absent!

The flu has been going around here, and I've heard of some classes having up to 4 kids home sick, but wow, 300? That flu must have spread like wildfire!

I have had the flu once this year. A co-worker of mine has had it about three times so far. I guess it's all in your immune system. I usually don't get sick, but when I do... I'm in bed for about four days.:)(

Everyone is getting the flu here in Massachusetts here, too. All of my personal care assistants accept 1 have had it. Friends have it. I've had it. I don't think we're as bad as Oklahoma, however.

flu is just contageous, thats why if you have a flu, you better stay home. This can happen specially now that our immune system is just not as before.