Absenteeism up at school after swine flu death
September 17th, 2009 | by admin | 4,399 viewsGARLAND — Absenteeism was up slightly at Price Elementary School in Garland on Tuesday after a student died of swine flu over the weekend.
Cynthia Garcia, 11, did not have underlying medical conditions, but she did have pneumonia and a bacterial infection, which appeared to follow the swine flu infection.
Around a dozen parents kept children with flu-like symptoms home from Price Elementary on Tuesday. While the school is located in Garland, it is part of the Mesquite ISD.
Parents who did take their children to school said they were happy with the way the district handled the situation.
The school was disinfected on Sunday. On Monday, counselors went class to class, informing students about Garcia’s death.
Stefanie Alexander, who has a daughter in third grade and son in kindergarten, said she was impressed with the kindergarten teacher, who made sure students drank from bottles of water so they don’t use the drinking fountains.
Daren Watkins said his daughter was concerned about coming into school today. She said she was sad about what had happened to her classmate.
Extra counselors were on hand at the school.
Cynthia Garcia was a sixth grader at Price Elementary.
School officials said she went home sick from school with a fever Thursday. She saw a doctor that day and then went home with three prescription drugs.
Family members said Cynthia stayed in bed on Saturday, sleeping a lot.
Finally, her mother, Maria Bidillo, called for an ambulance.
“She was really weak,” Bidillo said. “In the evening, [she told me] ‘I don’t feel good, I need to go to the doctor.’”
Cynthia died later that same day.
Bidillo said Cynthia’s symptoms appeared very much like ordinary flu until the day she died.
Price Elementary, like other schools, has had reported cases of the flu, but not at a higher level than other campuses in the area.
Health department oficials are not calling for it to be closed, as happened at many North Texas schools during the first swine flu scare earlier this year.
“While this death is unfortunate, deaths associated with influenza occur every season,” said Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Wendy Chung.
Health experts predict the H1N1 virus will spread in schools.
The death marks the county’s third H1N1-related death.
The county’s first H1N1-related death was reported August 27. The case involved a 52-year-old female who had an underlying medical condition. The second H1N1 death was reported September 4. That case involved a 37-year-old male who also had underlying medical conditions.
Texas has had four confirmed H1N1 deaths in residents under the age of 18. In comparison, there were 11 pediatric flu deaths in Texas during the 2008-2009 flu season, not including flu deaths during the summer of 2009. Two pediatric flu deaths occurred in Dallas County last flu season, officials said.
“The best advice Dallas County Health and Human Services can give families is to check your children in the morning, or the night before if necessary, for any signs of illness,” DCHHS Director Zachary Thompson said. “Particularly, you should check your child for fever.”
• Officials say preventative measures listed below should be taken:
• Get vaccinated when vaccines are available.
• Stay home for at least 24 hours after the fever has gone away without the use of fever-reducing medication.
• Use your elbow to shield your cough or sneeze.
• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
• Use hand sanitizer regularly.
• Wash your hands before touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Avoid contact with other sick people as much as possible.
• Seek medical attention early if you have flu-like illness and high-risk conditions.
Most healthy people who get the flu will not need to be treated, but there are signs to look for that should prompt a person to seek medical attention.
In children, they include: fast breathing or trouble breathing, bluish or gray skin color (call 911 immediately), not drinking enough fluids, severe or persistent vomiting, not waking up or not interacting, being so irritable that the child doesn’t want to be held.
In adults, they include: difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion, sever or persistent vomiting. Anyone whose flu-like symptoms improve, but then return with fever and worse cough should seek medical attention.
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Tags: cdc swine flu, h1n1 incubation period, swine flu incubation period, swine flu shots, swine flu symptoms checker, swine flu update
By Sheena West on Jan 19, 2010
during the height of the H1N1 or Swine Flu epidemic, i was very afraid to get infected with this disease and i wore face mask whenever i got into heavily populated areas.
By Ally on Feb 3, 2010
i remember being scared of getting infected by H1N1 during the height of the pandemic. at least two of my classmates got infected by H1N1.
By Beatrice on Feb 11, 2010
i think that in asian countries the Swine Flu did not spread rapidly compared to those countries that are located in colder climates. we should still be very thankful that the swine flu did not cause massive infections.
By Teddy Blake on Feb 18, 2010
2 of my cousins in mexico got infected with the swine flu virus. thank God, they recovered well. it is a great news that the pandemic on swine flu is gone now.
By Cathy Shey on Apr 20, 2010
We should be thankful that the swine flu did not spread very rapidly. it is not very deadly like Ebola but swine flu can still kill you.