School officials at Liberty Elementary School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma announced to parents Sunday evening that a student at the school had been diagnosed with Clostridium difficile infection, according to a statement from the school system.
Fox23 News printed part of the school’s statement: “We were recently made aware that a student at Liberty Elementary was diagnosed with CDI, or C. diff., an infectious disease. Although the risk of transmission is very small, we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure students are safe including disinfecting restrooms and all common areas prior to students returning on Monday morning. We will be moving students from the affected classroom to the media center until the room can be thoroughly disinfected. The student who is ill will not return to school until symptom-free.”
Clostridium difficile infection, commonly called C. diff or CDI, is a bacterium that causes inflammation of the colon, known as colitis. Usual symptoms include watery diarrhea, fever, nausea, abdominal pain and loss of appetite, according to the CDC.
C. diff is usually associated with people undergoing medical care who are prescribed long-term antibiotics, and is the leading cause of hospital-associated gastrointestinal illness, placing a high burden on our health-care system.
