Cornell School District sent all of its students home early yesterday morning and announced it would be closed for the rest of the week as the number of students suffering from an intestinal ailment continued to rise.

	Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Students at Cornell Elementary School head to their buses after classes were dismissed early yestserday due to an outbreak of intestinal illness. Click photo for larger image.

"I've never seen anything like it," said D.J. Johnson, superintendent of the 800-student district, which serves Coraopolis and Neville Island.

From the outset yesterday, 135 students were absent. Then, in the first two hours of classes, almost another dozen reported nausea and vomiting.

The decision to close school yesterday was particularly difficult, Johnson said, because students were taking state assessment tests. He was assured by state Department of Education officials that the district could reschedule the exams.

The intestinal illness, suspected to be caused by a norovirus, has been spreading in the district since late Thursday. Students also were sent home early on Friday. All students in kindergarten through 12th grade are housed in a single building.

"We were hoping that this was slowly but surely going to go away," Johnson said. It became obvious, however, that it was only getting worse -- a building principal, four teachers and the maintenance supervisor also were sick -- so he decided to close school for the rest of the week.

Mimi Schneider, the school nurse, said the action should halt the spread of the disease and allow those stricken to get better.

Allegheny County Health Department officials say the symptoms suggest the Norwalk virus or similar noroviruses, which cause an estimated 23 million cases nationwide each year of what is sometimes called "stomach flu." Most such infections go unremarked unless they affect a large group, as has occurred notably on cruise ships.

Guillermo Cole, health department spokesman, said other school districts are not reporting unusual absenteeism, but evidence suggests it is spreading through the households of Cornell students. It appears that no one has been hospitalized or become seriously ill, he added.

As of late yesterday, the Health Department had identified 162 cases ---- 129 Cornell students, 12 school staff members and 21 family members. "We even have a couple of grandparents," Cole said.

Stool samples from some of the Cornell students have been sent to the state Health Department for testing to determine the cause of the infection. Results may be available by the end of the week.

If a norovirus is confirmed in the Cornell outbreak, it would be the largest outbreak in recent memory, topping the 83 Penn Hills High School football players, coaches and other adults sickened at an August 2002 football camp. In January, 35 students and staff members at Carnegie Mellon University were sickened by Norwalk virus.

Norwalk-type gastroenteritis typically lasts a day or so, though people can remain contagious for a couple of days after recovery.

Johnson doesn't believe contamination in the facility or in the food service operation is to blame, but said the district will hire a contractor to clean and disinfect the building before it reopens on Monday.

He said he was not sure when the state assessment tests will be rescheduled or whether closing for the week will affect the school calendar. Whether the school year will have to be extended will depend on discussions with the school board and the Cornell Education Association, the teachers' union.

Updates about school reopening will be posted on the district's Web site, www.cornell.k12.pa.us.

Schneider advised families to wash hands regularly and replace toothbrushes to help halt the spread of the illness.

Cole advised that areas contaminated by vomit or diarrhea be cleaned and disinfected, either with a commercial product containing bleach or a solution of a half cup of bleach mixed with a gallon of water. Kitchen and bathroom countertops and surfaces also should be periodically wiped down with disinfectant.