Classes have resumed at the Alabama School of Math and Science following a norovirus outbreak that sickened more than 30 students and forced the residential campus to shut down for more than a week.
School officials said the illness first appeared among students at the midtown Mobile campus in mid-August, and within a day was spreading quickly enough that administrators decided to send the school’s roughly 250 boarding students home rather than risk a wider outbreak. Testing conducted with the Mobile County Health Department confirmed the cause as norovirus, sometimes known as the Norwalk virus, a highly contagious gastrointestinal illness that has periodically caused outbreaks aboard cruise ships and in other close living quarters.
ASMS President Monica Motley said the school initially hoped to reopen after about a week, but the return date was pushed back several days after additional students reported symptoms once they were already home. “It spread like wildfire,” Motley said, adding that she did not want to reopen the school prematurely and risk another wave of illness.
During the shutdown, the school arranged free charter bus transportation to get students home and back to campus once it reopened. Two cleaning companies were brought in to sanitize dormitories and common areas, including bagging laundry, wiping down mattresses and disinfecting surfaces throughout the buildings. Students were given sanitization supplies upon their return.
Health department investigators initially focused on the school’s cafeteria as a possible source of the outbreak but ultimately ruled it out. Motley said no definitive origin point has been identified, though officials suspect the virus may have entered the community through a single infected person shortly after students arrived for the new school year. In total, about 33 students were affected and no staff members became ill, she said.
Motley credited staff and parents with responding quickly to isolate sick students and limit the spread once the outbreak was identified. Since classes resumed, the school has posted reminders throughout campus encouraging students and staff to wash their hands frequently to help prevent another outbreak.