Possible Viral Outbreak at Timber Creek, School Officials Say

A possible viral outbreak has potentially sickened dozens at Timber Creek High School, school officials said in a letter posted Friday morning.

Nine students were sent home with similar symptoms, according to Superintendent Brian Repici, with stomach pain being the common complaint.

Along with those students, another 77 had already called out sick, and six staff members reported being ill and were unable to come to work, Repici said.

“As part of our normal operating procedures, we called the school physician and the Camden County Department of Health to investigate the issue,” Repici wrote to parents. “As of their examination thus far, it does not seem as if it is anything related to food-borne illness or anything that is outside the normal course of a virus.”

The school is taking precautionary steps, Repici said, both to notify parents and try to eliminate any problem within the school itself. To that end, he said, hard surfaces are being sanitized overnight at the school, and classrooms and offices are getting additional hand sanitizer.

“If your child experiences abdominal pain or vomiting, please keep the child home from school and seek the appropriate medical assistance,” Repici said.