Update- Mysterious outbreak at Houston school scares parents, teachers

[Guest guest]

Mysterious outbreak at Houston school scares parents, teachers

Houston Chronicle -

By MONICA RHOR Associated Press Writer

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5141867.html

HOUSTON — It is a medical mystery and a parent's nightmare:

Something is making people sick inside a Houston middle school. So

far, no one knows what it is.

The school district says the air is clean and that children and

employees should show up for school. But an increasing number of

parents and teachers say they are afraid to go inside the building

or to send their children there.

Since the first day of school on Aug. 27, more than 15 teachers and

seven custodians have suffered from severe headaches, chest pains,

breathing problems and vomiting while inside Francis Key

Middle School. Last Wednesday, several teachers were taken by

ambulance to a hospital. Others — under doctor's orders — have

missed days of work.

Some parents say their children are also ill and have refused to

send them to school until the source of the illness is found. So

far, no students have been taken to the hospital.

Houston school district officials insist the 50-year-old school

building is safe. They say tests conducted at the school have failed

to detect any mold or other air contaminants.

" If at any time we feel that there really is a specific danger,

absolutely we'll shut the building down, " HISD Superintendent

Abelardo Saavedra told a group of teachers and parents at a school

board meeting last week. " But until we find evidence that there is a

serious problem out there, we'll continue to teach children out

there. "

That response did little to soothe the mounting fears and

frustrations of teachers and parents who say the school district is

ignoring their concerns.

" What do they qualify as serious? Someone passing out and dying? "

asked Tonya White, who has two children at the school.

The school with 600 students is in a working-class neighborhood

where 95 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced

lunch.

The strange illness first surfaced in late August, when science

teacher s began to cough and wheeze and had trouble

breathing after spending time inside a classroom.

The symptoms went away when he left the room, but came back more

violently when he returned. Staff called 911 when his throat

tightened and his eyes swelled.

That room had been closed during the summer because of suspected

mold, s said.

s said he failed a pulmonary test conducted by his own doctor,

and hasn't yet been able to return to work.

Two other teachers also fell ill the first week of class. Over Labor

Day weekend, seven custodians got sick during a routine cleaning and

had to be taken to the hospital.

Last week, two more teachers left by ambulance on Monday. Two days

later, 11 teachers got sick, and at least six were transported by

ambulance.

The symptoms include watery eyes, shortness of breath, elevated

blood pressure, skin rashes and vomiting, said Gayle Fallon,

president of the Houston Federation of Teachers.

" My people are getting sick big time, " Fallon said. " The district

can't find what's wrong, but something's wrong. "

The union sent samples of ceiling tiles, carpet and a rope from the

school to an independent lab for analysis. That report found the

presence of aspergillus and pencillum — both forms of mold.

A lab contracted by the school district also found both mold forms,

but concluded the school's air quality was acceptable.

" The district has invested a lot of time, effort and money in

independent outside testing of the building to determine what is

making people sick, " district spokesman Terry Abbott said. " So far,

all of the scientific tests show that there is nothing wrong with

the building. "

The Houston Health Department also conducted an inspection at the

request of a city councilman, said spokeswoman Kathy Barton. That

inspection also gave the building an all-clear, although inspectors

recommended closing two classrooms — including Room 305.

The Houston Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Response Team also

monitored for chemical hazards and found none — but noted it did not

test for airborne microbial agents.

But older buildings sometimes have indoor air quality issues, said

Dr. Emery, associate professor of occupational health at the

University of Texas School of Public Health.

In most cases, he said, the problem can be traced to poor

maintenance, water intrusion or inadequate ventilation. The

teachers' symptoms are consistent with air quality issues, he said.

" If I were coming in from the outside and had a 50-year-old building

with these concerns, that's what I would look at, " Emery said.

Parents and teachers who crowded Thursday's board meeting say the

district should take more aggressive steps to protect the children

and staff.

" Something has to be done at . You have to do something for the

children, " said sixth grade teacher Yolanda McCray-

. " Something has to be done, not next week, not next month.

Today or tomorrow. "

They want the district to relocate classes until the mystery is

solved. Some parents say children should stay out of school

altogether.

White has kept both her sixth-grade son and her seventh-

grade daughter Keva Provost, home since last Thursday.

Since school opened, White said her son has had headaches and a full-

body rash.

" Their health is first. If I have to do home schooling, then that is

something I have to look into, " said White, who owns an insurance

agency. " Even if they go to school, when their head is hurting,

their skin is hurting, are they really learning? When there are

ambulances outside, are they really learning? "

[Guest guest]

I think that in situations like this they need to publish all results..

People are adults, they can deal with information.

On 9/17/07, tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote:

>

> Mysterious outbreak at Houston school scares parents, teachers

> Houston Chronicle -

> By MONICA RHOR Associated Press Writer

>

> http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5141867.html

>

> HOUSTON — It is a medical mystery and a parent's nightmare:

> Something is making people sick inside a Houston middle school. So

> far, no one knows what it is.

>