One of the biggest schools in Co Kildare was forced to close yesterday after up to 80 pupils became ill with a respiratory virus.
Around 20 pupils from St Corbin's CBS, Naas, were being treated in Naas General Hospital and Tallaght Hospital yesterday.
Naas General Hospital opened a ward, which had been closed, to cater for the boys. A number of boys had been discharged after their condition improved.
When school started yesterday up to 30 pupils were ill at home. A further 30 fell ill at school during the course of the morning. The school closed at lunchtime yesterday. It remains closed today as a precautionary measure. It hopes to open again on Monday.
Dr Margaret Fitzgerald, a specialist in public health medicine with the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA), said the pupils were suffering from a "viral upper respiratory tract infection".
The pupils had all complained of flu-like symptoms with sore throats, headaches and high temperatures. A small number had also been vomiting.
Mr Noel Merrick, principal of the 800-pupil boys school, said pupils began complaining of feeling ill on Wednesday. Around 200 boys had not attended classes yesterday, the majority of whom had been kept home as a precautionary measure.
Mr Merrick said the illness had sparked fears of a major meningitis outbreak. The school had fielded hundreds of calls from early morning yesterday.
"The meningitis fear has been ruled out by the ERHA, which is a great relief. So at this stage they are just trying to get to the bottom of it. It is unlikely that there was something wrong with the water supply because the school was open for business all summer for various things and we had no problems."
The ERHA has advised anybody with symptoms to take paracetamol, drink plenty of fluids and to stay at home to prevent any further spread of the infection. If they are concerned about their condition they should contact their GP.
