A mysterious illness is causing serious attendance problems at Long Island and Westchester schools.
A mild respiratory illness or strep throat is probably responsible for sending 36 students and three teachers home sick from a middle school, Suffolk County health officials say.
The commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services says 25 students were sent home from Edmund W. Miles Middle School in Amityville on Thursday. Eleven more were sent home Friday after they complained of symptoms like mild fever, cough and sore throat.
The commissioner says no one has been hospitalized. Most of the students are in the sixth grade.
The middle school wasn't the only educational facility sacked by a mysterious illness this week. A Westchester high school had to close Friday after dozens of students and teachers complained of flu-like symptoms, according to WCBSTV.
County health inspectors scoured Horace Greeley High School and came up with a plan to take on the virus that could have kept nearly 200 people at home on Friday.
"Rumors of like 160 people not in school today -- and in one of my classes we had a test and 10 people weren't there," junior Karan Jin told WCBSTV.
The widespread sickness had students staying away from common drinking fountains and school officials rushing to institute new lesson plans about hygiene. Authorities promised concerned parents the school would get a complete cleaning over the weekend.
"This weekend we'll scrub down the school, disinfect the whole school and hopefully by Monday everyone will be healthy," Chappaqua School District Superintendent David Fleishman told WCBSTV.
