Contra Costa County health officials decided to close a Pittsburg
elementary school for a week beginning today, after tests there revealed
three probable cases of swine flu.
Teachers at Highlands Elementary School were contacting their
students' families Tuesday night to inform them of the decision, said
Barbara Wilson, superintendent of the Pittsburg Unified School District.
Thirteen children from the school were either sent home or called in
sick Tuesday with flu-like symptoms.
The fourth-graders, including one with a relative who recently
visited from Mexico, all are in the same class. The school notified
county officials.
The county then quickly dispatched public health nurses to the
children's homes to take nasal swabs. The county laboratory analyzed the
specimens and concluded that at least three are probable swine flu
cases.
"So far, we've only had reports of very mild illnesses," said William
Walker, director of Contra Costa Health Services. But he said the school
is being shut down until May 6 as a precaution.
Custodians spent the afternoon sanitizing the classroom and other
areas the students may have frequented.
Earlier in the day, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of
emergency. A short time later, health officials in Marin and Santa Clara
counties announced what were believed to be the Bay Area's first swine
flu cases, along with the ones in Contra Costa County.As
the virus
continued to spread, state and federal health authorities labored to
discover the outbreak's scope and to determine the best response for
protecting public health.
No confirmed deaths have been linked to the virus in the United
States. But more than 150 people have died in Mexico and officials here
are uncertain how severe the outbreak will be.
"With a new infectious agent, you don't sit back and wait and hope
for the best," said Richard Besser, acting director of the national
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "You take bold steps and
then you pull back if you need to. We are in a pre-pandemic period."
In Marin County, a 60-year-old woman and her 20-month-old
granddaughter, who recently traveled to Mexico, became moderately sick
after returning home. Both have probable swine flu cases.
The child has since recovered. The woman now has only mild symptoms,
but as a precaution, the county tested other household members and gave
them medication to help ward off illness.
There were no cases discovered in Solano County, county officials reported Tuesday.
Santa Clara County also announced a probable case. The 16-year-old
female had recently traveled to Southern California. Contra Costa County
also has tested an ill student from Riverside High School in Pittsburg,
but those results were not available Tuesday night.
Health officials throughout the East Bay have been holding daily
conference calls to track the disease and determine the best response.
"We're waiting to see the progress of what so far has been a mild
illness with hardly any hospitalizations, let alone fatalities," Walker
said.
Experts urged people not to panic, but to take precautions to protect
themselves, including frequent hand-washing, covering a cough, and
staying home from work or school if feeling ill.
Alameda County this week submitted 39 specimens for testing and
should have the results within 24 hours, said health department
spokeswoman Sherri Willis.
Numbers changed constantly, but as of Tuesday afternoon, state
officials said they had 11 confirmed swine flu cases - five in San Diego
County, five in Imperial County and one in Sacramento County. They
counted seven probable cases: two in the San Diego area, two in Marin,
and three in Sacramento County.
All of the Sacramento cases have been linked to St. Mel School, which
was temporarily closed, officials said.
Nationwide, the CDC reported 64 confirmed cases in New York, Ohio,
Kansas, Texas and California. Five people have been hospitalized,
including three in California, but the California people have all been
released and are recovering.
In his emergency declaration, Schwarzenegger ordered all agencies to
coordinate with public health officials as needed, said competitive
bidding on contracts could be suspended to deal with the outbreak, and
waived certification requirements for laboratories involved in the
testing.
"There is no need for alarm," the governor said. "We are taking
strong and swift action to limit the spread of the virus and minimize
its effects."
The state has spent several years preparing for an outbreak and has
resources available if it should worsen, said Bonnie Sorensen, chief
deputy director of the California Department of Public Health.
California has its own stockpile of antiviral medications and will be
getting more from the CDC. It also has 21,000 hospital beds that can be
deployed to communities as needed, 2,400 ventilators, and three mobile
hospitals with 200 beds each.
The state also has obtained the equipment and chemical substances to
do testing at its Richmond laboratory beginning this week. That should
provide faster results because the state will no longer have to send
specimens to the CDC in Atlanta.
With all the publicity about the outbreak, many people are contacting
their doctors at the first sign of illness. Kaiser Permanente's
switchboards are "experiencing substantially higher call volumes than
expected for this time of year," said Stephen Parodi, chief of
infectious disease. More patients than normal also have been showing up this week with
colds, sore throats and coughs at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in
Berkeley and St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, officials said.
elementary school for a week beginning today, after tests there revealed
three probable cases of swine flu.
Teachers at Highlands Elementary School were contacting their
students' families Tuesday night to inform them of the decision, said
Barbara Wilson, superintendent of the Pittsburg Unified School District.
Thirteen children from the school were either sent home or called in
sick Tuesday with flu-like symptoms.
The fourth-graders, including one with a relative who recently
visited from Mexico, all are in the same class. The school notified
county officials.
The county then quickly dispatched public health nurses to the
children's homes to take nasal swabs. The county laboratory analyzed the
specimens and concluded that at least three are probable swine flu
cases.
"So far, we've only had reports of very mild illnesses," said William
Walker, director of Contra Costa Health Services. But he said the school
is being shut down until May 6 as a precaution.
Custodians spent the afternoon sanitizing the classroom and other
areas the students may have frequented.
Earlier in the day, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of
emergency. A short time later, health officials in Marin and Santa Clara
counties announced what were believed to be the Bay Area's first swine
flu cases, along with the ones in Contra Costa County.As
the virus
continued to spread, state and federal health authorities labored to
discover the outbreak's scope and to determine the best response for
protecting public health.
No confirmed deaths have been linked to the virus in the United
States. But more than 150 people have died in Mexico and officials here
are uncertain how severe the outbreak will be.
"With a new infectious agent, you don't sit back and wait and hope
for the best," said Richard Besser, acting director of the national
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "You take bold steps and
then you pull back if you need to. We are in a pre-pandemic period."
In Marin County, a 60-year-old woman and her 20-month-old
granddaughter, who recently traveled to Mexico, became moderately sick
after returning home. Both have probable swine flu cases.
The child has since recovered. The woman now has only mild symptoms,
but as a precaution, the county tested other household members and gave
them medication to help ward off illness.
There were no cases discovered in Solano County, county officials reported Tuesday.
Santa Clara County also announced a probable case. The 16-year-old
female had recently traveled to Southern California. Contra Costa County
also has tested an ill student from Riverside High School in Pittsburg,
but those results were not available Tuesday night.
Health officials throughout the East Bay have been holding daily
conference calls to track the disease and determine the best response.
"We're waiting to see the progress of what so far has been a mild
illness with hardly any hospitalizations, let alone fatalities," Walker
said.
Experts urged people not to panic, but to take precautions to protect
themselves, including frequent hand-washing, covering a cough, and
staying home from work or school if feeling ill.
Alameda County this week submitted 39 specimens for testing and
should have the results within 24 hours, said health department
spokeswoman Sherri Willis.
Numbers changed constantly, but as of Tuesday afternoon, state
officials said they had 11 confirmed swine flu cases - five in San Diego
County, five in Imperial County and one in Sacramento County. They
counted seven probable cases: two in the San Diego area, two in Marin,
and three in Sacramento County.
All of the Sacramento cases have been linked to St. Mel School, which
was temporarily closed, officials said.
Nationwide, the CDC reported 64 confirmed cases in New York, Ohio,
Kansas, Texas and California. Five people have been hospitalized,
including three in California, but the California people have all been
released and are recovering.
In his emergency declaration, Schwarzenegger ordered all agencies to
coordinate with public health officials as needed, said competitive
bidding on contracts could be suspended to deal with the outbreak, and
waived certification requirements for laboratories involved in the
testing.
"There is no need for alarm," the governor said. "We are taking
strong and swift action to limit the spread of the virus and minimize
its effects."
The state has spent several years preparing for an outbreak and has
resources available if it should worsen, said Bonnie Sorensen, chief
deputy director of the California Department of Public Health.
California has its own stockpile of antiviral medications and will be
getting more from the CDC. It also has 21,000 hospital beds that can be
deployed to communities as needed, 2,400 ventilators, and three mobile
hospitals with 200 beds each.
The state also has obtained the equipment and chemical substances to
do testing at its Richmond laboratory beginning this week. That should
provide faster results because the state will no longer have to send
specimens to the CDC in Atlanta.
With all the publicity about the outbreak, many people are contacting
their doctors at the first sign of illness. Kaiser Permanente's
switchboards are "experiencing substantially higher call volumes than
expected for this time of year," said Stephen Parodi, chief of
infectious disease. More patients than normal also have been showing up this week with
colds, sore throats and coughs at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in
Berkeley and St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, officials said.
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