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Unknown virus hits West Side school, 230 students ill

By Tammy Fonce-Olivas El Paso Times

About 230 students at Rosa Guerrero Elementary  most of them suffering from upper respiratory infection  stayed at their West El Paso homes Friday.

The campus has about 830 students. On a typical day, between 20 and 30 students are absent due to illnesses, according to district officials.

The high number of ill students prompted the City-County Health and Environmental District to determine what was sickening the students at the campus at 7530 Lakehurst.

Health officials took throat and nose cultures of ill students in the nurses office. The results should be ready next week. Symptoms displayed by ill students include fever, cough, nausea and headaches.

Dr. Jorge Magaqa, health district director, said he believes the rash of ill students is an isolated incident that doesnt seem to be very alarming. Other schools in the county have reported slight increases in absentees, but none as dramatic as at Rosa Guerrero Elementary.

This is not unusual at this time of the year when the weather conditions are not the best, he said. One day we have a very nice day and the next day we have chilly conditions. We also have a lot of pollution and pollen. ... This is a very fertile opportunity for the virus to spread.

Magaqa said the virus, which had not been identified as of Friday, was most likely transmitted by students touching the same items, such as bathroom sinks and desks, at school.

What I found in the school is the grades involved were first, fourth and fifth. They were in one area of the school where they have a common hall, he said.

The campus began to experience a high number of absentees Wednesday when 60 children stayed home. Thursday, the number of students out sick jumped to 165.

Parent Bonnie Kassanjee said she was concerned about sending her fourth-grade son Sahil to school Friday.

I came by the school to see how everything is, she said. They are trying their best to sanitize it and keep it clean.

To combat the germs that may be lingering in the school, the students, faculty and staff used a combination of household bleach and water to wipe down their tables, desks and chairs.

Guerrero nurse Marilyn Crossley said she expects the number of absent students to return to normal by the time the students return to school from spring break.

Students at Guerrero and the other 85 campuses in the El Paso Independent School District will be on vacation Monday through March 27.

Parents who have concerns about this (while school is out) should call the city-county health district, Crossley said.

http://www.borderlandnews.com/story1.shtml

-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), March 18, 2000

Answers

You'll never hear a follow-up story on the cause of this "mysterious outbreak" , just like the ones in New England last December/Janruary when the hospital emergency rooms were jamed with people with " flue like symptoms " . Bet dollars to donuts that they had chemtrails overhead the day before .

Some of the chemtrail sites I read in Jan./Feb. said the very young and old were most succeptable.

Question : would the doctors ( gods ) at the hospitals admit that they couldn't find a common bacillas/virus ? Would they be " ALLOWED " to tell the public they found anthrax/small pox/ ? /? vaccines in the spittle or lungs ? I seriously doubt it . Eagle

-- Hal Walker (e999eagle@freewwweb.com), March 18, 2000.

If there were chemtrails or contrails the day before, El Paso would never notice it. They have a high amount of air traffic and have for many years.

-- Nellie Christian (BinsMom1@aol.com), March 18, 2000.