Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

Skatman · May 15, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

I am trying to find a map to see how close this school is in relation to the two in the neighborhood that reopened on the 6th since the time is about right for incubation.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/moms/6407795.html

In the Houston Independent School District, Hamilton Middle School reopened Monday and Harvard Elementary will resume classes on Tuesday.

The Houston health department cleared both campuses to reopen.

?We?re past the infectiousness period,? health department spokeswoman Kathy Barton said Monday.

The two schools, located in the Heights, shut down Thursday over concerns that one student at each campus had come into contact with someone who had swine flu. Barton said at least one of the tests came back negative. She was unsure about the other one, but said the child would no longer be contagious.

wotan · May 15, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

The new school is also in the Heights, I believe. The Heights is an older neighborhood on the city's near northeast side. If you find a map of the City, look west from Downtown on I-10 (Katy Freeway) between I-45 (North Freeway) and I-610 (West Loop). The Height's straddles I-10 from roughly Taylor through Washington Ave and from Memorial Dr in the south to somewhere north of I-10, I'm not sure of where the northern edge would be.

HenryN · May 15, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

HISD closes school with 12 cases of swine flu, nearly 400 absent

By CHARLOTTE AGUILAR
Bellaire Examiner

Updated: 05.15.09
Faced with the 12 cases of swine flu — the largest outbreak in Texas — Houston ISD officials announced Friday afternoon that they are closing Travis Elementary School in Houston’s Heights.

The district and city health department had no issues with keeping the school open today, even when more than half the pupils were missing at roll call and another 12 were sent home sick by late morning — a total of 390 pupils absent out of an enrollment of 712.

But HISD spokesman said at 2:15 p.m. that the district was about to shut down the campus after the Houston health department confirmed another 10 cases.

Health issues at Travis first came to light late Wednesday when HISD announced 86 pupils were either ill or went home with symptoms of what officials first believed was a stomach virus — a stomach ache, fever and headache. By Thursday, more than 200 pupils stayed home and 26 were sent home during the day.

Normally only about 20 pupils a day are absent, according to HISD officials.

Initially, officials were relying on doctors’ diagnoses of seven pupils whose parents had taken them to be checked that the illness was a stomach virus.

Kathy Barton of the city of Houston health department told the Examiner this morning, though, that the illness is largely “seasonal flu,” and that when her lab tested specimens from the original seven pupils, two of them tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

Barton said it was up to HISD whether to keep the school open. District spokeswoman Lisa McKinney said that only four teachers are out — two who are sick and two who are dealing with their own sick children — so that keeping classes running was “not a problem.”

The increased number of swine flu diagnoses swiftly changed that decision.

The lesson for the Houston area at-large? “We still have influenza in our community and take precautions,” said Barton.

Those precautions have clearly become a mantra for Barton: “Stay home if you’re sick, keep kids home if they’re sick, avoid sick people, watch your hands several times throughout the day,” she ticks off effortlessly.

http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/05/15/breaking_news/doc4a0da566ce15f126366188.txt

HenryN · May 15, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

Texas elementary school closed after 12 students diagnosed with A/H1N1 flu

HOUSTON, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Twelve students at an elementary school in Houston, the U.S. state of Texas, were diagnosed with A/H1N1 flu Friday, and local officials suspected it might be the largest cluster of the new influenza virus in Texas.
Officials decided to close Travis Elementary School Friday after the 12 H1N1 cases were confirmed and some 400 out of the 712students at the school stayed home, according to local TV reports.
It is not immediately known how many students missed classes because of illness and how many were kept at home as a precaution. Some students have the symptoms of fevers, headaches and stomachaches.
Education officials said the school will remain closed until May 26. And during this period of time, they hope the virus may die on its own.
Aslo on Friday, Texas reported its third H1N1 flu death, and also the fifth death in the United States.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said in a press release that a 33-year-old man in Texas died last week who had H1N1 flu, based on official lab test results received Friday.
A pregnant Texas woman died from the flu on May 5, making her the first H1N1 death of a U.S. citizen. Before her, a Mexican toddler who had been visiting relatives in Texas died in a Houston hospital from the disease, becoming the first U.S. death.
The other two deaths were in the state of Washington and Arizona.
The number of confirmed and probable H1N1 cases has risen to 4,714 in 47 U.S. states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday. According to the CDC, the state with the most confirmed and probable cases is Illinois which has 638 cases, followed by Wisconsin with 613 cases, California with 504, Texas with 506, Arizona with 435, Washington with 246, New York with 242. The increase showed that the ongoing outbreak of the H1N1 flu continues to expand in the United States and CDC officials have said they expect the flu to spread to all 50 states, to cause severe disease and some deaths.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/16/content_11381973.htm

HenryN · May 15, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

12 swine flu cases confirmed at Travis Elementary

By JENNIFER RADCLIFFE and TODD ACKERMAN HOUSTON CHRONICLE

May 15, 2009, 3:18PM

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Mayra Beltran Chronicle

J. Ripkowski picks up her great-grandchild Sasha Gonzales, 12, as he leaves Travis Elementary for the day due to high fever on Friday.

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The number of Travis Elementary School students diagnosed with swine flu has jumped to 12, likely the largest cluster of the new influenza virus in Texas, health officials said today. The school will be closed until May 26, HISD officials said.
Nearly 400 of the Heights-area school's 712 students stayed home sick today, and a steady stream of parents were removing their children from school throughout the day.
"We felt, it's the end of the week, the end of the term. It wouldn't be bad to take them home," said father John Faraguna, who took his three Travis students home before lunch.
All three children said they felt fine.
"I'm not feeling bad at all," 11-year-old Joe said before the confirmations were released. "But there's rumors of swine flu."
It's not known how many children are sick and how many are being kept at home as a precaution. Some youngsters have had symptoms including fevers, headaches and stomachaches.
jennifer.radcliffe@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6424433.html

HenryN · May 15, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

<TABLE id=comments-table border=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=comment-text>BeingHonestRU wrote:
Formula is simple:
Area + people = swine flu
5/15/2009 5:51:41 PM

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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=commenter-avatar>

(8) </TD><TD class=comment-text>HeadBanger_AngusMcFarty wrote:
The Mexican flu is contagious....better get your masks on now.
5/15/2009 5:22:50 PM

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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=commenter-avatar>

(0) </TD><TD class=comment-text>Paul_Revere wrote:
Talk about extremes. Three weeks ago one kid gets sick and they close a whole district and cancel all sporting events. Now, up to 400 are sick in one school with 700 students and they yawn.
5/15/2009 5:03:03 PM

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(176) </TD><TD class=comment-text>BadPixie wrote:
Bummer. We have some friends who are on lockdown for five days, with a confirmed case of A (not swine.) I hope everyone feels better soon--at least it's a mild strain, compared to others. Peeps seem to be bouncing back pretty quickly, unless they have some underlying health issues, and that's generally been older folks, not kids this age.
5/15/2009 4:38:10 PM

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(0) </TD><TD class=comment-text>u_all_amazing wrote:
I guess the chronicle did not read what it wrote, it is called H1N1 influenza A, it figures.
5/15/2009 4:34:18 PM

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(131) </TD><TD class=comment-text>PinkAnne wrote:
I can appreciate that Mythbuster...
5/15/2009 4:31:41 PM

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(161) </TD><TD class=comment-text>Mythbuster wrote:
PinkAnne wrote:
"I was serious Mythbuster, I thought we were on the same page in regards to vaccines and tamiflu... "
--
I believe we are... I'm just not going to post my direct opinion for public consumption.
5/15/2009 4:25:20 PM

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(131) </TD><TD class=comment-text>PinkAnne wrote:
I was serious Mythbuster, I thought we were on the same page in regards to vaccines and tamiflu...
5/15/2009 4:18:12 PM

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(161) </TD><TD class=comment-text>Mythbuster wrote:
Eric_7 wrote:
"Better to catch it now than when it gets worse."
--
Exactly...
5/15/2009 4:16:58 PM

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HenryN · May 16, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

Travis Elementary closed for 10 days

[SIZE=-1]10:54 PM CDT on Friday, May 15, 2009

[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By Lee McGuire / 11 News[/SIZE]

watch the video

HOUSTON ? A dozen cases of swine flu have now been confirmed at Travis Elementary School and hundreds more students have called in sick. To prevent the spread of the virus, HISD has closed the school until May 26.

But now that the school is closed, working parents are trying to figure out what they should do with their children.

"I?ll probably take them to some parks. Maybe have some movie afternoons at our house. Coloring? I don't know," said Gretchen Himsl, parent.

By the time the kids return to school, there will be just three days until summer break. Already, all across Woodland Heights, front lawns are booked with children resorts that require a ten day minimum stay.

"Our family is good. I feel bad for the families that are sick because it's going to be a rough few days," said Himsl.

The swine flu apparently started in the third grade.

On Wednesday, ten children fell ill on a field trip and ten more were sick by the time they'd returned to school. By the end of the day on Friday, nearly 400 kids had either called in sick or left early.

 Also Online
More about swine flu

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Parents say that at one point on Friday, the staff went room to room with thermometers and checked every child to see if they had a fever.

"There are a whole lot of kids out today. A lot of kids are coughing and they don't feel good. One kid threw up in the hallway today," said Zoe Vastakis, a fourth grade student at the school.

Stories like that raised concerns with a US Congresswoman, who want the Centers of Disease Control to look into the situation.

"The CDC was saying they are trying to get a handle around what this is. Whether it's a continuation of H1N1 or whether it's a different strain. And I hope that we would have the opportunity to be engaged on that question," said US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston.

Kathy Barton with Houston's Health Department says parents should remain calm. She says the 12 children known to have swine flu are all recovering at home. She also says the virus is behaving just like the regular flu, only there's much more of it.

HISD does not believe that all 390 students who didn't come to school on Friday have the flu. The district suspects a lot of parents simply kept their children home as a precaution.

Parents also say there are bouts of strep throat, pinkeye and a stomach virus roaming around the school as well.

HenryN · May 16, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

niman said:
Travis Elementary closed for 10 days

[SIZE=-1]10:54 PM CDT on Friday, May 15, 2009[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]By Lee McGuire / 11 News[/SIZE]

HISD does not believe that all 390 students who didn't come to school on Friday have the flu. The district suspects a lot of parents simply kept their children home as a precaution.
Parents also say there are bouts of strep throat, pinkeye and a stomach virus roaming around the school as well.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou090515_mp_12-cases-swine-flu-travis-elem.8f79f68.html

Sore throat, GI problems, and pinkeye are ALL symptoms of swine H1N1.

Skatman · May 19, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/19/content_11397945.htm

Confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases at Texas elementary school rise to 24: official

HOUSTON, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The number of students diagnosed with A/H1N1 flu at an elementary school in Houston, the U.S. state of Texas, rose to 24, local health officials said Monday.

The flu outbreak at Houston's Travis Elementary School is the state's largest in a single setting, according to newspaper Houston Chronicle.

"It's still too early to know how widespread this was at the school," said Porifirio Villarreal, a spokesman for the Houston Department of Health and Human Services.

Only two specimens from Travis students have come back negative for H1N1 flu, said Villarreal, adding that he anticipates the health department laboratory will be receiving more samples of Travis students to test.

Health officials said earlier that they expect there are more than just H1N1 flu involved in the illness of Travis students. One of the two cases that tested negative for H1N1 flu is seasonal flu, they said.

The school was closed last Friday after 12 H1N1 cases were confirmed and some 400 out of the 712 students at the school stayed home.

Illness began spreading at Travis Elementary School last Wednesday, with 86 students missing classes with such symptoms as fever, headaches and stomachaches. It was not known how many students fell ill and how many were kept at home by parents as a precaution.

The school will remain closed until May 26 and during that period time, officials hope the virus may die on its own.

tropical · May 19, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

#27:
"But now that the school is closed, working parents are trying to figure out what they should do with their children."

em

Boy, what kind of society we became worldwide.

I can share with the families the actual struggle, but ...

just only several hundred years ago (a very small portion of time compared to the 10000 human years of civilization, or 60000~ of less),
school education was an exception.

The families have up to 10 childs mainly, compared to the actual developed countries 1-3 mainly.
And all of them stays with parents until they gone to make their's families (even than, many stays joined).

What is this "what they should do" now? Left them at home alone, or take a vacation for 10 days - is it worth to support your family's health?

If there is not enaugh money, than maybe it could be reached in legal action from the folks who insisted that its no big deal to initialy left entering an additional dissemination by plains of incubated patients of a novel triple flu from an already known infected hot zone without strict quarantines ...

wotan · May 19, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

Well, back before education was common for the masses, most of those kids were working on the farm and had no real leisure time. Also, parents who both work have limited amounts of time they can take off from work, and these are elementary school kids who are too young to stay home by themselves. Many of them will likely be in daycare in a couple more weeks when school is out for the summer, but the daycares won't have openings right now, or would charge for the full month, etc...

Lizw · May 19, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

wotan said:
Well, back before education was common for the masses, most of those kids were working on the farm and had no real leisure time. Also, parents who both work have limited amounts of time they can take off from work, and these are elementary school kids who are too young to stay home by themselves. Many of them will likely be in daycare in a couple more weeks when school is out for the summer, but the daycares won't have openings right now, or would charge for the full month, etc...

And in the past, it was much more common for the older children in a family to be responsible for the younger ones, if the parents couldn't be there. I took care of a neighbor mother's three children the summer I turned twelve, so she could work. No one thought anything of it at the time, but it would probably generate a call to Social Services these days. The situation now is far different even from when I was young, not to mention another generation or two earlier.

wotan · May 19, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

I should really find out since it will effect me in a few years, but I believe in Texas there is a minimum age where children can stay home without an adult.

When I was a kid my brother (4 years older than me) and I had chicken pox at the same time when he was in 5th grade and I was in 1st. We stayed home together. That's probably illegal today. And of course its a wonder we didn't kill each other.

Skatman · May 19, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

Swine flu: CDC tours Travis Elementary

08:34 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 19, 2009

By Leigh Frillici / 11 News

A representative from the Centers for Disease Control, along with city and school health officials, toured Travis Elementary School Tuesday.

They took notes and pictures in an effort to try an piece together the puzzle of how the swine flu spread so quickly there.

?The walk through is like trying to fit a puzzle together,? said Dr. Debo Awosika-Olumo of the Houston Health Department. ?We are trying to put together a puzzle of what is the source of this particular disease. Why are the people affected? ?

The current number of Travis students sickened by swine flu stands at 24.
Last Friday, hundreds of students were absent from Travis.

Some students were sick with swine flu, others had fevers, strep throat and pink eye. Many parents also said they kept their children out of school in order to keep them from getting sick.

By the end of the day on Friday, city and school officials decided to close Travis until May 26.

thebes · Jun 1, 2009

Re: Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou090601_tnt_swine-flu-travis-elementary.397d3440.html

Travis Elementary to reopen Monday, but without running water

07:19 AM CDT on Monday, June 1, 2009

By Courtney Zubowski / 11 News

HOUSTON -- A Houston elementary school forced to shut down because of a swine flu outbreak will open its doors Monday, but there will be no running water.

Health officials closed Travis Elementary School earlier in May after nearly 30 students tested positive for swine flu.

Several other students caught a stomach virus and pink eye.

No other school experienced anything like this in the Houston area.

Health officials took air and water samples and found abnormally high levels of bacteria in the 3rd grade water fountain. Most of the students who had swine flu, according to health officials, were in the third grade.

?We have to use like only like one water fountain,? 3rd grader Logan Elias said. ?Like when we?re finished going outside, we come back in and there?s only like one water fountain we have to use.?

Health officials aren?t saying bacteria from the water fountain led to the outbreak.

Monday, an end-of-the-year awards ceremony will be held at the school. Summer school also begins this week.

?I don?t know what to expect if everything is ok now,? said parent Rosemary Reyna. ?I don?t like myself getting sick, so I don?t want to see my kids sick.?

As a precaution, HISD shut off the water. Workers on Sunday bagged the water fountains and set up portable restrooms outside the building.

A note went home to parents informing them that students will be given bottled water and sack lunches. Hand sanitizers will be sprinkled throughout the school.

This hasn?t been easy on students.

?I want all the kids to cure that?s all I want,? 2nd grader Jose Rubio said. ?That?s all I want because I miss my school. I miss the way it was.?

Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

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