Rock County Health Department explains Consolidated closure guidance, county norovirus status
JANESVILLE — The Rock County Health Department is not sure an illness outbreak at Consolidated Elementary School in the Town of Janesville was in fact norovirus — but all signs pointed toward the sickness commonly referred to as the “stomach flu.” Rock County Public Health Nurse Jennifer Weadge said that no tests on ill students were performed, so the specifics cannot be confirmed. However, based on symptoms, the onset of illness and how contagious the illness at Consolidated seemed to be, health department officials believe it was norovirus. Symptoms include sudden vomiting, watery diarrhea, nausea and stomach cramps. “Based on symptoms, the onset of illness and the contagiousness of the infection, we suspect norovirus,” Weadge said. The Milton School District reported that more than 35% of Consolidated students were out of school on Wednesday, attributing that absences to children being sick with suspected norovirus. Superintendent Jeremy Bilhorn told The Gazette 30 Consolidated students were absent at the start of Wednesday after they were believed to have gotten ill with norovirus. Throughout the day, that number continued to climb. The district closed the school Thursday and Friday as a result. Consolidated, a small, rural elementary school, has 86 students. The health
