Doctor warns of 'perfect storm,' illnesses cause 'abnormal absenteeism' at Whitesboro ISD

This winter has brought an onslaught of illnesses over the past couple of weeks that have impacted school attendance numbers in a significant way.

“We’ve experienced an abnormal amount of absenteeism due to multiple illnesses going around,” Whitesboro ISD Superintendent Ryan Harper said.

The district has had reports of Flu A, Flu B, Strep and Covid. These illnesses are keeping many students home from school.

“Since [Jan. 25], WISD has had more than 300 students out daily, with percentages ranging from 85% to as low as 80.4%,” Harper said. 

He also confirmed that 80% is usually the threshold in which schools look to close due to illness. However, the true underlying driver is staff illness.

“As of now, the majority of positions are being filled and we are hopeful that we are nearing the end of this illness cycle,” Harper said.

This winter’s illnesses are running about a month and a half past the normal season, said Axtell Rite Value Pharmacy owner Tom Axtell.

Dr. John Sissney, a family medicine doctor at TexomaCare Family Medicine, said it’s the simultaneous alignment of several factors that are creating this “perfect storm.”

“You’ve got the holidays and travel, with people gathering together, and then kids going back to school. Then you have these illnesses – Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), which happens in winter months; Flu A and B, which typically happen early to late winter; and this current mutation of Covid that acts like the Flu -- that just so happen to be occurring simultaneously,” Sissney said. “Sometimes we’ll have a couple of these line up, but it’s rare for them to all hit at the rate they’re currently hitting.” 

Sissney, who sees patients aged five days old to 105 years old, said the number of people he’s treating this time of year is significantly higher than average. He’s especially seeing an increase in appointments for kids and older patients. He encourages people to take precautionary measures.

“It’s always a good idea to take multivitamins, especially this time of year. Look for vitamins C, D and zinc,” Sissney said. “And try to limit high-risk exposure, if you can.”