Six students from at least two district schools have reported
swine flu symptoms and have been forwarded to the county health
department for testing, according to school district and health
department representatives.
Six students from at least two district schools have reported swine flu symptoms and have been forwarded to the county health department for testing, according to school district and health department representatives.
Gilroy Unified School District Superintendent Debbie Flores would not identify which schools the six students went to, but a county health representative confirmed that there was a sample being tested from a Rucker Elementary School girl. Flores also said that a 13-year-old middle school student was one of the six students with symptoms and that the other five students were at district elementary schools.
“I’m not going to identify the schools … It would be alarming people” until a case is confirmed through testing, Flores said.
Officials at the Santa Clara County Public Health Department expected results this afternoon from Saint Louise Regional Hospital, as the institution has had the sample from the Rucker girl for more than 24 hours. Physicians tested the student Wednesday morning, but “everybody” at the hospital authorized to speak to the media was in a meeting Thursday morning, according to the hospital’s operator who said, “There’s kind of a situation going on here.” Hospital representative Jasmine Nguyen said she was “unable to confirm any information” as of 12 p.m.
It is unclear whether the other five students have submitted test samples or if they are being analyzed.
“A little snafu” in the first test sample caused the delay in the results, and county staff have since labeled the young girl’s strain a “high priority,” a county spokesperson said. That puts it ahead in the evaluation queue of at least 30 other samples from throughout the county.
Even the school district’s head nurse, Eileen Obata, was still waiting for more information.
“They’re not telling me anything. I asked if the results would be ready in 24, 48 hours, but I can’t get any answers. It’s all wait and see,” Obata said. “I haven’t been called today. I’m amazed.”
At least 109 Americans have contracted swine flu, including a 23-month-old child from Mexico who died from the illness while in Houston, Tex. Also hard hit have been South Carolina, New York and California, where the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has declared 14 confirmed cases, but no deaths. County health officials have tested 44 samples and have declared only four as probable cases, county spokesperson Joy Alexiou said.
Those include a 16-year-old San Jose girl, a 30-year-old male, and a 32-year-old female who had recently traveled to Mexico, all of whom were not hospitalized and are at home recovering, Alexiou said. The fourth case, a 53-year-old female, is still under investigation. These people do not include the suspected Gilroy cases. All four people with probable cases of swine flu live in San Jose or Santa Clara.
