WKBT La Crosse, WI-NewsChannel 8-More than 200 students sick at Onalaska High School

Reported by Kristen Elicerio

More than 200 students sick at Onalaska High School

With seasonal flu and H1N1 spreading, doctors are urging people who feel sick to stay home. As it turns out, hundreds of students at one local high school are taking their advice.

226 kids were out sick Friday at Onalaska High School, most of them reported having flu-like symptoms.

But, with a good portion of students still healthy, classes were held as normal.

Onalaska School Superintendent John Burnett says there's no way to be certain if the kids who have been out ill this week have H1N1, but based on what symptoms are being reported, district nurses are guessing that the much talked about virus has hit Onakaska High School.

On Monday the high school reports having about three percent of its student population out sick. Friday that number was 25 percent.

With such a high percentage of students missing from school questions have been raised about canceling classes.

But, administrators say there's still nearly 650 perfectly healthy students ready to learn.

Burnett says the CDC is giving different advice from what they offered in early spring about closing schools.

"Right now, closing schools should be a measure of last resort," Burnett says. "It's not the first thing we're looking at, it's the very last thing we're looking at, and that's based on all the advice from the professionals that are dealing with this."

The Onalaska School District says they're staying in constant communication with the La Crosse County Health Department and medical advisors.

Just to put the number of Onalaska's out sick in comparison with other high schools in the area, La Crosse's Central High School says 80 students were out sick Friday, or six percent of the students population. Logan High School says 54 students, or five percent of the student population, were out sick Friday.