HoustonChronicle.com --
http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: Local & State
Jan. 11, 2003, 10:10AM
Cy
Creek High hit by viral outbreak
By LEIGH HOPPER
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Medical
Writer
More than 700 students at Cypress
Creek High
School were absent or sent home
Friday in what may be an outbreak of Norwalk virus, the illness
notorious for plaguing passengers aboard cruise ships.
"It does appear to be a Norwalk-like virus," said
Rita Obey, a spokeswoman with the Harris County Public Health Department, which
is investigating the rash of cases.
Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea struck large numbers of
students suddenly, a hallmark of the stomach virus. Officials
in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in northwest Harris County
said 400 of the school's 3,200 students were absent Thursday. On Friday, 646
were absent and 82 more sent home during the day.
Symptoms
usually last 24 to 48 hours and require no specific medical treatment. The
school district canceled Friday night activities at the high school, but did
not call off Monday classes.
More students may fall ill next week because outbreaks tend
to occur in waves, experts warned.
"You have several cases and it looks like it goes away
-- then you have several (more) cases," said Kathy Barton, spokeswoman for
Houston Department of Health and Human Services. "We see it a lot,
especially in contained areas such as cruise ships, nursing homes, schools,
areas where you have a captive audience."
Washing your hands, covering your mouth and nose when you
cough or sneeze, and not sharing food or drinks are ways to prevent
transmission, Barton said.
So far,
other area schools appear free of the virus, Harris County health
officials said. County epidemiologists are looking at possible sources for the
outbreak, which is spread through food, water or close personal contact.
The Norwalk
virus and a group of Norwalk-like viruses are among many common microorganisms
that can cause intestinal diseases, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Norwalk
virus has become a household name in recent months, sickening more than 1,000
passengers and crew members on ships bound for Hawaii, Alaska and the Caribbean.
Cypress Creek freshman Deborah Diehl, 15, was among those
laid low by the bug Friday. She woke up with severe abdominal pain and nausea,
and later developed other typical symptoms, said her mother, Susan Diehl. She
felt better after lunchtime but relapsed in the afternoon.
"She's horizontal on the sofa again," her mother
said.
Influenza, which causes similar symptoms plus sneezing,
coughing and fever, is expected in Houston soon, said Dr.
Paul Glezen, a flu expert with Baylor College of Medicine.
"Statewide, they've had a fair number in Austin
and Temple and San
Antonio," he said.
"All those areas are seeing more than we've seen so far in Houston."
