MILWAUKEE — Extra precautions were in place Friday at a Milwaukee elementary school following a confirmed case of a highly transmissible bacterial infection.

On Thursday afternoon, parents received an email regarding a confirmed case of shigellosis.

Previous Coverage: https://www.tmj4.com/news/milwaukee-county/shigellosis-case-confirmed-at-milwaukees-escuela-fratney-health-department-warns-sickness-spreads-easily

Shigellosis is a bacterial infection caused by the shigella bacteria. It can spread through contaminated food, water, or contact with fecal matter.

Symptoms normally appear one to two days after exposure. Those symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.

Children are often the most at risk of infection.

More Information: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/disease/shigellosis.htm [dhs.wisconsin.gov]

Duran Ferguson has a son at Escuela Fratney. He shared his reaction before picking him up.

“Man, it was baffling,” said Ferguson. “Hearing that is like, for real?”

He told TMJ4 he now plans to focus on good handwashing and sanitizing hygiene, including sanitizing door handles in his car.

Once Meagan Ludwig received the email Thursday, she pulled her daughter out of school and kept her home on Friday as well.

“My biggest concern is that she will bring home a highly communicable disease, even though we as a family are always taking as many precautions as possible,” said Ludwig.

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Ludwig also shared her worries with TMJ4 over a lack of emphasis on proper handwashing practices at school.

“Particularly, I was concerned because I know for a fact that the kids have not, and do not, historically wash their hands between playing outside at recess and then going to lunch,” said Ludwig.

TMJ4 obtained an email sent Friday evening by the school’s principal, highlighting some of the precautions the school is taking.

The letter noted that staff and students are washing their hands frequently and before eating, conducting deep cleaning of high-touch areas like bathrooms, and monitoring that students meet handwashing expectations. It also advised that children who are not feeling well should stay home.

Nicole Hertel-Meirose’s children told her they were practicing some of those precautions on Friday.

“He told me about how there are a few new things in place at school to help ensure they are really keeping their hands clean, so I was relieved to hear that,” said Hertel-Meirose.

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Despite the initial report, she feels comfortable sending her kids to school.

Shigellosis is considered a Category II reportable illness. There are roughly 300 to 400 cases each year in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health and Human Services.

Reporting Shigellosis: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p02566.pdf [dhs.wisconsin.gov]

Ludwig hopes the school will continue to practice these precautions to keep her daughter and others safe.

“We should be doing more than just telling individuals what they need to do; we should model how we take care of each other as a community, at school, and in Milwaukee,” said Ludwig.

The Milwaukee Health Department released this statement:

The City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) is actively working with La Escuela Fratney due to a shigellosis exposure at the school. Shigellosis is a bacterial infection caused by Shigella bacteria, which can spread through contaminated food, water, or contact with fecal material. Symptoms may include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps, typically appearing 1–2 days after exposure.

MHD is providing guidance to affected individuals and recommending enhanced hygiene and cleaning measures. Families are encouraged to practice thorough handwashing and seek medical attention if symptoms arise.

Shigellosis is a Category II reportable illness in Wisconsin [dhs.wisconsin.gov], requiring health care providers to report cases within 72 hours. For more information, visit the CDC’s website [dhs.wisconsin.gov], or contact the Milwaukee Health Department at (414) 286-6800

Milwaukee Public Schools released this statement:

MPS cannot share medical information about students or staff, but we are working diligently to make our campuses safe for all of our students.

MPS is aware of a case of one Shigella infection at one of our schools.  We are following procedures to treat this issue, and no other infections have been reported.

Students and their families have been notified and we will be communicating our plan to ensure students and staff are washing their hands after transitions to ensure everyone’s safety.  We will continue to conduct deep cleaning in high-touch surface areas as well. 

We are working closely with the Milwaukee Public Health Department and will be providing a guide to students and families to make sure that they are taking all precautions to stay healthy.

As always, we work diligently to keep our students and staff safe, and we appreciate your effort to help us inform our families when health concerns arise.

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Terry Hackbarth’s love of music and the scene in Milwaukee started an exciting new chapter when he took over the East Side storefront now known as Irving Place Records. This week, he added a couple lines to the story by releasing the first two songs from an upcoming all-Milwaukee compilation album.

Irving Place Records partnered with Label 51 Recordings on the project, which is exclusive to the record store and is the first in the label’s series of city-based compilations. Titled Notes from the Underground Vol. 1: Milwaukee, the track listing is as follows:

Side A

• Trolley, “Record Store”
• Diet Lite, “Stuck Again”
• Certain Stars, “I Don’t Drink Much (About That)”
• Operations, “Fog Museum”
• The Quiet Canon, “My Love Will Shine on You (Radio Edit)”
• Apollo Vermouth, “After School”

Side B

• Testa Rosa, “Alice Anything”
• Elephonic, “Wonderin’”
• Immortal Girlfriend, “Hourglass”
• Laurel Sulfate & Her Ladies of Leisure, “Laguna”
• Nick Maas, “House For Two”
• Dead Horses, “Brady Street”

The liner notes are quite the literary work and outline the “rock nuggets,” “gorgeous whisper” and “soothing medicine of melancholy” you’ll find on the album. The capper to those eloquent descriptions invites you to:

… take a long walk (or a short spin) with your twelve new best friends on this Brew City “best of.” If this is your first visit, you will understand why there’s a lot to love about Milwaukee, a city whose vinyl grooves and avenues are haunted by the rugged, the ragged, the wistful, and the romantic. When you’re done listening, why don’t you send your own transmission from the underground? Plot your own escape from a place that most dreams call home.

Two 88Nine favorites — Diet Lite and Immortal Girlfriend — get the honor of serving as the lead singles, both of which are out now. The album in its entirety will be available as a digital edition Dec. 6, with physical versions on vinyl and compact disc coming to Irving Place Records a week later on Dec. 13. You can pre-order both of those physical options now on the store’s website.

Home sales in the four-county metro Milwaukee rose fell 1.3%, year-over-year, while at the same time sale prices rose 11.9%, according to the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors.

Median home sale prices in the four-county metro Milwaukee area were $400,028 in October, up from $357,529 for October of 2023.

“Prices are going up because the market simply does not have enough homes to meet demand, resulting in prices being pushed up as buyers bid up prices,” the GMAR report states. “Demand for homes continues to remain strong.”

October home sales dipped in Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties, year-over-year, but rose in every other southeastern Wisconsin county. Here’s the count-by-county home sale breakdown for October:

• Racine: 216, +20.0%
• Washington: 148, +18.4%
• Kenosha: 176, +17.3%
• Walworth: 131, +12.9%
• Waukesha: 443, +11.0%
• Ozaukee: 97, -4.0%
• Milwaukee: 837, -9.0%