St. Ignatius Virus Outbreak Forces San Francisco High School To Shut Down (VIDEO)

A violent stomach virus outbreak has forced St. Ignatius High School, a Jesuit college preparatory academy in the Sunset district, to shut down through the weekend.

Principal Patrick Ruff said in a news conference that more than 300 students (over 20 percent of the student body) and 30 teachers became ill from gastroenteritis, causing many to vomit in trash cans across the campus.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO)

"We encourage students and staff to stay home when sick and to wash hands frequently," a message on the San Francisco Unified School District's website reads. Ruff explained that the number of absent teachers would make it difficult to hold classes. Officials are monitoring the situation closely, and affected individuals are urged to stay away from campus for at least 72 hours.

Peter Radsliff, whose son was among the sickened, told Bay City News the virus already appeared to have cleared up. "He felt much better this morning," Radsliffe said. "He's sleeping, feeling fine, just the typical 24-hour bug that you get over."

St. Ignatius boasts a number of famous alumni, including California Governor Jerry Brown, former San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, Gordon Getty and Intel CEO Paul Otellini.

Health experts claim gastroenteritis only lasts a few days. New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning came down with the disease the week before his heartbreaking championship victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Learn more about the incident by taking a look at ABC News' report below:

Comments

[MrOnePercent2012]

11:53 AM on 02/03/2012

SF is pretty but way too many nutjobs live there.

[sfwomanvoter]

08:40 PM on 02/03/2012

Really? An article about a high school full of sick kids and that is where you go? I can see that you are a really compassionate guy.

[MrOnePercent2012]

10:14 AM on 02/04/2012

Thank you.

[tccat4]

02:44 AM on 02/03/2012

Bug in Minneapolis, follow the plan, eat light and small meals, rest and plenty of fluids. Good luck all.

[spikedance]

02:21 AM on 02/03/2012

Strange, I just ran into a friend today who said he and his wife had the most horrible stomach virus for two days. He said he was surprised he could stand today. We are in NYC.

[Dan Crabtree]

12:20 AM on 02/03/2012

Ahhh the melting pot..Lot's of new viruses appearing daily now but they go with bed bugs and two seprate new strains of TB whooping cough etc...Can not stop it so keep your fingers crossed that the next one only last 24 hours as well..

[ForCryinOutLoud]

06:35 AM on 02/03/2012

how do you figure that bedbugs, 2 separate strains of TB and whooping cough are related to a flu epidemic?

Let me guess: the bedbugs had whooping cough, didnt cover their mouths when coughing, which spread the TB and flu virus to everyone.

Am I getting warmer?

Frightening what some ppl actually beleive......

[pjs-point]

11:37 PM on 02/02/2012

i live in oklahoma & we had a similar virus spread threw here the first 2 weeks of december! approx; a 24 hour bug; yet one of the nastiest ones i've had!!! i promise you that where ever you are standing when first hit by this virus... it will be the 1st location that you throw-up. it was unreal; about a 2 second warning was all any of us had. thank God that it only last a day!!!

[dennismcmh]

10:32 PM on 02/02/2012

There is also a bad virus going around Washington D.C. and it's making the citizens of the U.S. sick !

[samjay45]

11:26 PM on 02/02/2012

LOL....

[joeshop8]

12:41 AM on 02/03/2012

That is a good one, still laughing.

[DoTheMath52]

01:34 AM on 02/03/2012

BARKATIUS

[antipodal2u]

10:30 PM on 02/02/2012

(Bird flu?)

[GOODDOC1]

05:58 AM on 02/03/2012

No. That gives respiratory symptoms.

[mtnmanjames123]

10:06 PM on 02/02/2012

Couldn't have happened to a better "SAFE" city. You get what you sow.

[GOODDOC1]

05:59 AM on 02/03/2012

Are you trying to hide your ignorance, because it isn't working.

[jlv327]

10:04 PM on 02/02/2012

Bet it's from that ammonia tainted salami... lol

[dennismcmh]

10:33 PM on 02/02/2012

NOPE.....It's from too much Rice-a-roni !!!!

[Sheila Medenwald]

09:36 PM on 02/02/2012

Principal Patrick Ruff said in a news conference that more than 300 students (over 20 percent of the student body) and 30 teachers became ill from gastroenteritis, Dont shake any of their hands, they havent been washing them thats why they are sick.

[ForCryinOutLoud]

11:42 PM on 02/02/2012

not entirely correct.

Viruses spread like wildfire for many reasons.

I would encourage you to educate yourself on the modes of transmission for viruses.

[360Dunk]

10:49 PM on 02/02/2012

Revival, make sure to remove your dunce cap before showering. The 49ers are moving to Santa Clara (still in the Bay Area), not Baltimore, because they are building a new stadium there.

Here's some info for you and other clueless types: San Francisco's gay population is far outnumbered by heteros. The gays number only about 15%, as opposed to the 85% straight. That's only a couple or few percentage points more than Boston, Atlanta, Seattle, Minneapolis,and a handful of others.

As for your Sodom & Gamora reference (Gomorrah for those of us with at least a high school education), thank you for reminding me to buy an asbestos suit for when the gods burn the city down for its sins. Any more pearls of wisdom you'd like to share?

[ForCryinOutLoud]

11:44 PM on 02/02/2012

GAY BAY?

Theres the comment of a mature, educated individual.

One that even knows how to spell the Good Book quotes he uses...psst? Its Gomorrah.

Might want to read it more before making ignorance-filled comments about the Bible.

Just saying......

[JamesBinKS]

06:39 PM on 02/02/2012

Thanks to the Over-use of Anti-biotics and the such Germs have become resistant to the Normal Anti-biotics and thanks to the people that have worse Hygene then Pigs and then People wonder why These Viruses and things Are so bad and can't be gotten rid of .

[GOODDOC1]

07:04 PM on 02/02/2012

This is evidently a virus, and wouldn't be affected by antibiotics. However, you are absolutely correct that the overuse of antibiotics when not indicated can and does caus antibiotic resistant bacteria, like MRSA.

[hartbrayka]

07:06 PM on 02/02/2012

you don't take antibiotics for a stomach bug. So don't know where your going with that one. Stomach viruses are one of the most contagious viruses out there. If you touch a doorknob while sick with the virus, someone 2 hours later that touches that doorknob will get the virus.

[GOODDOC1]

03:25 AM on 02/03/2012

There are certain bacterial sources of acute gastoreteritis (what some people call the stomach flu), such as Salmonella, Shigella, E. Coli, and Camphylobacter.

[knice1]

06:30 PM on 02/02/2012

It's the start of the zombie apocalypse!

[GotchaHun]

05:39 PM on 02/02/2012

What did St. Ignatius do to earn his own virus?

[Paul J Hanley]

06:56 PM on 02/02/2012

It's a super-secret-special-Jesuit virus.

[ez3714]

10:46 PM on 02/02/2012

His leg was broken by a cannonball. When they put him back together, one leg was shorter than the other, so he couldn't dance. He had the leg re-broken and re-set so he could. Remember this was in the days before Versed and Fentanyl. Having his own virus and his own order is the least we could do. I think he deserves his own rap song.

[christinespug]

05:34 PM on 02/02/2012

Hurry raise gas prices!!!!