Northern Nevada Public Health is speaking out on the recent outbreaks in multiple Washoe County schools. We've been digging all day trying to get answers and are learning the number of schools impacted has increased.
Six Washoe County schools are now on outbreak status, up from the original five reported previously.
Three are dealing with respiratory illness outbreaks, two with gastrointestinal, and one is dealing with both.
An additional 20 classrooms are now in outbreak status. 15 of them for respiratory and five for gastrointestinal illnesses.
We've been pressing the school district all day, but they tell us they will not release the names of the schools affected at this time. Northern Nevada Public Health tells us that's due to HIPPA policies. However, they say the families of the schools impacted have been notified.
Liliana Wilbert, an epidemiologist for NNPH, says, "In order to protect the confidentiality of the schools and the families that are impacted we do not share that type of information."
Wilbert says right now the respiratory illnesses they are seeing are RSV, influenza, and general influenza-like illness that is more commonly reported.
Northern Nevada Public Health is practicing their clean-up procedures for these illnesses. That includes removing all nearby individuals, cleaning and sanitizing the contaminated area, and keeping sick students and staff away from others.
Wilbert says if your child is starting to show any symptoms of illnesses they should stay at home.
So far NNPH is reporting there are 187 RSV cases reported, 36 hospitalizations due to flu, and 19 deaths due to flu, two of those deaths being under the age of 24.
Washoe County School District wants to make it clear that if families have not heard from them about their schools, then that means those schools are not impacted by an outbreak.
