100 students sick as prestigious school scrambles to contain gastro outbreak
A gastro outbreak has struck down nearly 100 boys at a major private school in Adelaide, causing two students to be hospitalised and part of the boarding house shut down as the college scrambles to contain the virus.
Four weeks ago Prince Alfred College was named the state’s most expensive school, but this week the prestigious college is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
A staggering 94 boys have been struck down as a gastro virus spread through the Kent Town college.
“That’s pretty serious. That’s very serious,” a student’s grandfather told 7 News.
The first cases were detected three weeks ago, with a just a handful of students falling ill, but it soon became a much larger problem.
Part of the boarding house has been shut down on the advice of medical authorities. Half of the cases are within there, while the others are spread right across the college, across all year levels.
“We’ve been working with PAC [Prince Alfred College] about an increase in norovirus cases over the past few weeks,” said Dr Louise Flood of SA Health.
“The outbreak has not been controlled yet so we do expect further cases.”
A letter was sent to parents one week ago, alerting them that the virus was making its way through the school. Parents were urged to keep their sons at home if they showed any signs or symptoms.
One mother commended the school on keeping parents updated during the outbreak.
“They really do a great job. The nurse has put out a communication, the school has put out a separate notification,” Trudy Jenkins told 7 News.
The outbreak however hasn’t hampered the school’s recruitment drive, as this week dozens of parents attended a morning tea at the $27,000-a-year college. It’s not known if any participants have fallen ill.
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