A large number of students at Alden-Conger School left school or didn’t attend school with a gastrointestinal illness Friday.

A-C Superintendent Joe Guanella estimated 60 students, or 25 percent, from the elementary school called in sick Friday morning and five to eight were sick at the school and then went home. He said the illness fits the pattern of the norovirus or the infection commonly mistaken as stomach flu. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea.

Guanella said he’s been working with Freeborn County Public Health Nurse Lois Ahern and the Minnesota Department of Health. After checking the kitchen and food, they don’t see a connection and believe it may be that the norovirus was passed from child to child.

“Apparently this can spread a while before you get sick,” Guanella said.

He said for the time being the school will not close, but that could change. Guanella also said the school will continue to be cleaned and they will revisit the kitchen, but that the illness resembles a virus and is probably not associated with food eaten at the school. A representative from the Minnesota Department of Health said they have worked with the school with cleaning and sanitizing tips.

He said he was told by the Minnesota Department of Health that there were three or four similar outbreaks in the state, and the illness does not resemble the H1N1 flu.

Guanella said the school sent home informational sheets about the illness with the students so families know what to look for. He said with the symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration may be an issue.

Ahern said the best thing people can do to avoid the illness is to wash their hands frequently using warm water and soap. Parents with sick children should wait 24 hours after symptoms disappear before sending the child back to school.

“If a child is vomiting and having diarrhea or symptoms they’re not recovering from they should consult their medical provider,” Ahern said.

According the Minnesota Department of Health the norovirus comes on suddenly and may have no symptoms, which is why it easily passes from person to person. The illness lasts about one or two days and less commonly up to a week. The virus is transferred from person to person if people do not wash their hands adequately.

If a person has symptoms of the norovirus they should drink plenty of fluids and wash their hands often. If symptoms worsen they should contact their medical service provider, but antibiotics will not be able to treat the virus.

The one-act plays scheduled for this weekend will be postponed to next weekend, and the craft fair scheduled for this weekend will be moved from the cafeteria to another part of the school.