Stomach Bug Infects Oceanport Students

Over 150 students in Oceanport were absent from and on Monday due to illness, most of them reporting the same symptoms: nausea, severe vomiting, and fatigue.

District physician told school officials it is "highly unlikely" that the illness emanated from either of the schools, and said it was "akin to a stomach bug," but not the flu or food poisoning, based on data provided to him by school nurses and parents of absent students.

"As a precaution I had my custodians wipe down every single desk in the district - usually they do that once a week - and spray every doorknob," said Superintendent Andrew Orefice, who said schools would be safe to attend on Tuesday, but advised parents to keep home children who are showing symptoms of the illness.

Though Felzenberg did not provide the schools with a specific diagnosis, he debunked a rumor that the outbreak was the result of food poisoning from the PTO's Holiday Fair held at Wolf Hill this past Saturday.

"Virtually 100 percent of the kids that went to that fair would have had to have eaten the same thing to even consider it being food poisoning," Felzenberg told Orefice.

Orefice said further that some students began visiting nurses with symptoms on Friday.

Symptoms last about a day, marked by severe vomiting, and the infection can be contagious, as Orefice reported some parents have also become ill.

Orefice said he has notified the Monmouth County Board of Health, and if the problem worsens, they will decide on the next step.