GEORGETOWN -- More than 100 students per day missed school due to flu-like symptoms in Georgetown County schools last week, officials said.
Head Nurse Laura Tucker said an average of 123 students per day stayed home from school from symptoms including sore throat, coughs, body aches and upset stomach. Tucker said an average of 44 students per day were sent home from school with flu-like illness.
Tucker said so far, all students that have tested positive for the flu have the A and B strains and not H1N1, which was more prevalent last year.
According to state Department of Health and Environmental Control guidelines, any child experiencing a fever of 100 degrees or greater should be sent home from school. Tucker said school nurses suggest to parents that a child absent from school with a flu-like illness should be free of fever for at least 24 hours without the use of anti-fever medication before returning to school.
Tucker said this year's flu season does not appear to be atypical for the school district, though she is still gathering data and will have a better idea by the end of this week.
In Horry County, Director of Student Health Services Gail Moss did not have numbers of absences due to the flu, but said said the flu's impact on the school district this year is "very light compared to last year."
