A DEEP clean of a Poole school took place at the weekend where last week 99 pupils were displaying symptoms of norovirus.

The highly contagious and unpleasant stomach bug had also affected nine teaching and support staff at Canford Heath Middle School.

And on Friday, 188 of the pupils aged eight to 12 were being kept away from school by concerned parents as a precaution, with just 72 being taught.

“We have been very unlucky to have been struck down by this bug, which according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), only needs one person to bring into a community and is extremely contagious, even through the air,” said Kate Carter, associate head teacher.

“We would like to reassure parents that everything is being done to wipe out the virus in our school and are confident that pupils will be able to return to school as normal today.

“However, we would ask parents that children who do display any of signs of the illness over the weekend are kept at home for a full 48 hours after the final symptoms disappear.

“This is extremely important, to ensure the virus is not inadvertently brought back into the school.”

Mrs Carter added: “Since the outbreak, we have also placed extra bottles of anti-bacterial hand gel into each classroom, toilet and room in the school as a further precaution against the spread of the infection.”

Dr Kumaran Kalyanaraman, consultant for the HPU said they had been working closely with NHS Bournemouth and Poole, Borough of Poole and the school.

“We have asked some of the people affected to provide samples to try to confirm the bug’s identity,” he said.