Apr 28, 2009 9:36 pm US/Eastern
2 Young Spencer Students Tested For Swine Flu
SPENCER (WBZ) ―
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Lake Street School is taking precautions in case two of its students test positive for swine flu after recently taking a trip to Mexico.
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The central Massachusetts town of Spencer is bracing itself for a possible bout with swine flu. Two students at the Lake Street Elementary School were sent home Tuesday after having flu like symptoms. The second and third grade siblings had just returned home from a family trip to Mexico.
School Superintendent Ralph Hicks said the students were suffering from fevers and belly aches.
"I know that the nurse was concerned enough to call the mother and say you need to take them to the doctor and get this checked out," Hicks said.
While the students were undergoing tests, their classrooms were evacuated and disinfected. Still, Hicks estimates about 50 students and teachers were possibly exposed in the classrooms, along with a busload of children who rode to school with the students in the morning.
The entire school and the bus will be disinfected overnight.
"I'm taking it seriously, these are precautions." But, Hicks adds, "We don't know if these children have swine flu or not."
The town's health department issued a reverse 911 call alerting residents to the situation. Health agent, Lee Jarvis, says they are working closely with the state Department of Public Health. The kids' tests will go first to the state lab, then if necessary, to the Centers for Disease Control lab in Atlanta.
Public health officials are hoping for the best, but gearing up in case their small town sees the first confirmed cases in the state of this global outbreak.
"We just closely monitor all the students and anyone who has had close contact with particularly this family," said Jarvis. "And have the school nurses pretty much just keep their eye on the children."
The ill students will not be able to return to school until cleared by their doctor. Regular classes will go on as scheduled.
Read: Swine Flu: What You Need To Know
The CDC said Monday there has been at least seven hospitalizations for swine flu in the United States that officials know about, and at least 64 cases have been identified.
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