Modesto Bee Article
By Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee Staff Writer
last updated: August 28, 2009
Other symptoms can include fever, sore throat, body aches, chills, fatigue, diarrhea and
vomiting.
Walker said his office presumes the H1N1 virus is to blame when schools report
flulike symptoms because 98 percent of tests are coming back positive for the virus.
"This is a pandemic," Walker said. "It's been in our county since July, with 40 hospitalizations
and several deaths. The big question today is, do you need to close a school?"
His
office scrutinizes attendance data from all schools in Stanislaus County and has not seen
alarming spikes, Walker said.
"We do have an epidemic but it appears to be ambulatory,
like we have every winter with influenza," Walker said. "Ninety percent of my time the past
two months has been dedicated to how best to mitigate this outbreak, so yes, it's here."
Swab and blood tests sent to an outside laboratory would tell if DeLaRosa had the virus,
Hawthorne said, but she declined to speculate on when results might be returned. An autopsy
should be performed in a day or two, she said.
"We don't want to give out premature
information because we don't want to cause a panic," Hawthorne said.
Cole said he missed
school Wednesday because of "health issues" not related to swine flu.
Early Thursday
afternoon, Cole concealed DeLaRosa's death when The Bee called. He later said he did not want
to go astray of privacy protocol.
"My concern is that this would be overblown into
something more than it is," Cole said.
His letter to parents, dated Thursday, opens
with news of the death without naming the woman. He assures families that the school disinfects
"surface areas and materials regularly" and instructs teachers and students in appropriate
hygiene.
A letter to Californians from Dr. Mark Horton, state public health director,
says that "parents must plan to care for their ill children at home and for potential school
closures."
The letter, released Thursday, says H1N1 "has the potential to sicken millions
of people in our state in the months ahead; as many as 1 in 4 Californians may be affected."
On the Net:
www.stancoe.org/scoe/admin/CrisisPlanning/welcome.htm;
www.cdph.ca.gov/PublishingImages/Dr.HortonLettertoCalifornians.pdf
Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at
gstapley@modbee.com or 578-2390.
