Sunny Wolfe

Senior Morgan Ramirez washes her hands to protect against the flu.

This winter, many students have missed school days because of the influenza outbreak. It is thought to be one of the worst outbreaks the PV district has ever seen, and has affected many students.  

It may have seemed like around half the school was gone from the flu, and that might have been accurate. Pam Cinadr, PVHS nurse stated, “This is the worst outbreak we’ve seen in a long time.” Parents have been calling their children in sick for weeks- many of them absent for over three days. 

Influenza can be spread from 6 feet away, and can travel when the infected person sneezes or coughs. The virus is airborne, meaning it can spread through air droplets when that person coughs or sneezes. There are three types of influenza: A, B and C. Type A and B are most common among those with influenza. Type C usually causes mild respiratory illness and is not likely the cause for epidemics. Influenza A is the source of this particular outbreak. 

There is an outbreak of influenza every year, but this year is particularly bad.  This is because the virus is highly adaptable and mutates quickly every year. It is also highly contagious, and can spread through physical contact as well as air droplets. 

The symptoms of influenza vary from person to person. The common symptoms entail a runny nose, cough, high fever, headache, and fatigue. Many younger kids will experience nausea, but this symptom is less common among adults.

There are many different ways to protect against the flu, but the most effective is to wash hands often, especially after exposure sneezing or coughing to get rid of the contaminants right away. It is also helpful to stay away from those who seem ill. Anyone experiencing common symptoms of the flu should stay home from school to avoid further contamination of others.

Senior Katie Gropel explained, “Both my sisters and my best friend. It’s going all around the school and I have been washing my hands as much as possible to prevent getting it.” 

Influenza spreads easily among children because people don’t wash their hands or cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze. In fact, one of the female bathrooms did not have soap for over two weeks, and people still used the bathroom. English teacher Ann Berger brought this issue several times to the administration’s attention, and still nothing was done about it. 

“I emailed the janitors several times asking them to refill the soap, but nothing happened. I told the girls to use a different bathroom, but several didn’t listen and used it anyways,” she stated.

The biggest outbreak in PVHS history has left people missing school left and right. In order to protect against influenza, make sure to wash hands often and avoid infection following the basic steps above.