Illinois School District Closes After Student Dies Of Mystery Illness

PERU, IL — An elementary school district in Peru, Illinois, closed both of its schools after a student died of unknown causes.

Peru Elementary School District 124 announced that both Parkside and Northview schools were closed on Wednesday after the girl's death.

According to the district, the student became ill on Friday night and was taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital on Saturday night or Sunday morning before being transferred to Rockford Mercy Health, where she died.

The Winnebago County coroner's office confirmed that an 8-year-old girl died Tuesday morning and said while an autopsy was conducted Wednesday, the cause of death is "pending further study," NBC Chicago reported.

"We do NOT have an official diagnosis or cause of death at this point in time," district officials said, adding, "Tuesday evening, the child's parents informed us that they were contacted and the child may have died from another illness than what they initially thought. This immediately caused us to seek information and we have been in contact with various health agencies since that time. Since we could not verify with absolute certainty that there were no concerns, we decided it was best to cancel school for today."

The district said it is "working on this nonstop" to ensure that students are safe and are in contact with the hospitals, health department and CDC to get information on what caused the girl's death.

"We will share any symptoms as soon as we possibly can. If you have any concerns with any illness or symptoms that your child has, then you should seek medical attention or speak to your family doctor, just as you would at any other time," officials said, adding that maintenance staff are conducting additional cleaning procedures at Northview school.

"While we do not see any specific cause for alarm, we have determined that it is best to take no chances with having students in school until we can make absolutely certain that we have clear guidance from all medical and public health agencies," Superintendent Mark Cross said in a statement to parents.

On Facebook, parents responded to the announcement, lashing out at "trolls" making negative comments and praising the district's response.

"Thank you for the update and for making sure our kids and facility are safe!" one parent wrote, while many expressed condolences to the parents who lost their child.

Late Wednesday, the district announced that the schools would be open on Thursday and said the Illinois Department of Public Health "was able to confirm that we have a child who was diagnosed as having a 'bacterial illness.'" The IDPH did not recommend closing schools, and "there is no reason to believe that there is a public health concern," Cross said.

"If information changes from the LaSalle County Health Department or IDPH, we inform you as soon as we receive that information. Our student also had other health concerns that could have made her more vulnerable to certain illnesses," Cross added, saying prevention for bacterial illnesses includes hand-washing, covering your mouth when you cough and staying home in the event of a fever.