Health Dep't Confirms Outbreak Of Respiratory Illness
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FORT MYERS (CBSMiami/AP) – The state's health department has confirmed an outbreak of adenovirus, a highly contagious respiratory illness that commonly causes cold-like symptoms, pneumonia, sore throat and diarrhea in Lee County.
The News-Press reports medical privacy rules prevent the Florida Department of Health from saying where the outbreak took place. But St. Andrew's Catholic School in Cape Coral sent home a letter to parents Thursday warning of the outbreak.
In the letter, the school's principal said the school had hired a cleaning service to sanitize the school and is otherwise discouraging the spread of the virus.
An "outbreak" is defined as two or more confirmed cases of a disease within a given geographical area or, in this case, building.
Health officials say adenovirus rarely causes serious illness.
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