Beacon High School To Close Wednesday For Complete Cleaning

BEACON, NY — Beacon High School will be closed Wednesday due to a confirmed case of a bacteria that can cause life-threatening diarrhea or colitis. In a statement posted on the district's website, Superintendent Matt Landahl said the staff learned Tuesday about the case of C. diff, or Clostridioides difficile, at the high school.

The district consulted immediately with the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health which advised that all hard surfaces in the school be cleaned Tuesday evening to help prevent the spread of the bacteria.

Landahl said that, after reviewing the extent of cleaning required at the high school, it was decided to close the facility for the entire day Wednesday.

The other five schools in the district will be open Wednesday.

"We have contacted ServPro who will do the cleaning and they will use an EPA approved cleaning agent specifically used to stop the spread of C. diff," Landahl said.

"We are implementing this cleaning protocol out of an abundance of caution," he said. "Closing the high school for a day was our decision as a school district."

According to the Centers for Disease Control, C. diff is a bacteria that causes life-threatening diarrhea. It is usually a side effect of taking antibiotics.

The infections mostly occur in people 65 or older who take antibiotics and receive medical care, people staying in nursing homes or hospitals for long periods of time and people with weakened immune systems or a previous C. diff infection.

C. diff can easily spread from person to person, and symptoms include diarrhea, fever, stomach tenderness, loss of appetite and nausea.

An estimated 15,000 deaths are directly attributable to C. diff infections, making it a substantial cause of infectious disease death in the United States, the CDC said.

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