DETROIT (WXYZ) — As students grieved the loss of a 6-year-old classmate, they returned to school at Marcus Garvey Academy on Monday. The Detroit Public Schools Community District says grief counselors were on hand to provide support.
The Medical Examiner's Office told 7 Action News his cause of death is not yet determined. The Detroit Public Schools Community District says about two dozen children reported feeling sick over the last couple of weeks with flu-like symptoms.
The Detroit Health Department says four of them tested positive for Haemophilus (H) influenzae. This is not the flu virus, but a bacterial infection that can lead to flu-like symptoms.
All students that tested positive were from the same class, and the school did a deep cleaning.
“That extra layer of disinfection took place and families were able to come to class today with that area being completely disinfected,” said Chrystal Wilson, assistant superintendent of ommunications for DPSCD.
“Bacterial illnesses are the ones we can treat with antibiotics a lot of times,” said Dr. Kevin Dazy, a DMC Children’s Hospital pediatrician.
Dazy says that while bacterial illnesses can be treated with antibiotics, they also can make you sick quickly.
He says this illness is something young children are vaccinated against if they receive recommended shots, but that the pandemic led to an increase in families falling behind on shots.
“Make sure that you are caught back up on all the preventable illness vaccines we have available,” Dazy said.
