'Life Threatening Bacteria' Closes Down Hudson Valley High School

A local high school is closed down on Wednesday after a major health threat was discovered.

On Tuesday an alert was issued by the Beacon City School District that a confirmed case of C. diff was discovered at the High School. In coordination with the Dutchess County Department of Health, the school began a sanitation process to help stop the spread this dangerous bacteria.

C. diff, or Clostridioides difficile, is a very aggressive bacteria that causes "life-threatening diarrhea" and colitis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the bacteria can develop as a side effect of taking antibiotics.

The threat of this bacteria is very real. The CDC warns that an estimated 15,000 deaths are directly attributable to C. difficile infections every year, making it "a substantial cause of infectious disease death in the United States."

As a precaution, Beacon High School is closed all day on Wednesday while the sanitation process continues. All hard surfaces are being cleaned and extra precautions are being made to help prevent the spread of the bacteria.

Symptpms of C. diff include diarrhea, fever, stomach tenderness, loss of appetite and nausea.

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