Superintendent confirms three Sturgeon students sick with E. Coli

The Sturgeon R-V School District Superintendent says it has notified the Boone County Health Department about students sick with E. Coli.

Superintendent Shawn Schultz told ABC 17 News Tuesday it’s had three cases of E. Coli.

Schultz says the first case happened before school started and the other two happened after the school year started.

The superintendent says the first student that got sick is in 1st grade and the other two are in kindergarten. All three apparently are still sick with the bacteria, but they are at different stages of it.

E. Coli is a bacterium commonly found in the intestines of humans and other animals, where it usually causes no harm. Some strains can cause severe food poisoning, especially in old people and children.

Schultz says because the first case happened before school started, they do not believe the bacteria was contracted at the school. He says the children impacted are getting treated.

Schultz says the district has already sent two letters to parents about the cases and plans to send a third letter to parents either tonight or tomorrow.

Schultz says he has talked with his staff about bleaching surfaces where the bacteria would most commonly be spread. He says his food service staff already uses diluted bleach to wipe tabletops.

The superintendent says the Boone County Health Department is not going to come to test the schools for the bacteria, but gave the district recommendations about how to prevent it from spreading.