School to Reopen After Students Fall Ill, 6-Year-Old Dies

An outbreak of flu-like symptoms is being investigated at a Detroit school after dozens of students fell ill and a kindergartner who was sent home died. The Marcus Garvey Academy was shut this week for a deep cleaning, ABC News reports, and is scheduled to reopen Monday. The 6-year-old died April 25, and other students came down with flu-like symptoms, including fever and vomiting, days later. An official with the Detroit Public Schools Community District said state and city health departments had not pinpointed the cause of the outbreak. It wasn't clear that the child's death was related to the outbreak, per People.

But a district official said two of the ill students were diagnosed with the bacterial illness Haemophilus influenzae, per CNN. Overall, fewer than 25 of the school’s 310 students became sick, Chrystal Wilson said. The CDC lists H. flu as a disease caused by bacteria that can bring about ear infections and bronchitis or more serious bloodstream infections. The bacteria spreads through the air, most often infecting children younger than 5 or adults 65 and older. Unknown illnesses in general can spread quickly through schools, particularly with vaccination rates dropping. (More Detroit stories.)