For the first time in its history, Lake Travis Independent School District is preparing for a potential scenario in which it must shut down a campus or multiple campuses for an extended number of days.

The response plans could be applied to any given disaster or epidemic scenario, but the impetus for the district’s actions is the growing number of H1N1 virus cases across the country. Officials report that the number of visits to doctors for flu-like illnesses is higher than usual for this time of year and has risen for five consecutive weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The U.S. Outpatient Influenza-Like Illness Surveillance Network’s graph of weekly percentage of doctor’s visits for patients exhibiting flu-like symptoms in the region has climbed like a spiking thermometer reading in recent weeks. The percentage of patients diagnosed with the flu among the total number of patients making doctor’s visits nearly reached 8 percent earlier this month.
The majority of influenza cases are the H1N1 Type A virus, originally referred to as swine flu. The virus was first detected in the United States in April, and the World Health Organization declared a 2009 H1N1 pandemic June 11.
The graph, posted on the Centers for Disease Control Web site, represents data on patients exhibiting H1N1 symptoms in the five-state region that includes Texas.
As of Sept. 12, widespread flu reports were coming from 21 states in the mid-West and eastern U.S., including Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico but not Texas. The CDC states that any reports of widespread flu are highly unusual in September.
Dell Children’s Medical Center has been inundated with patients reporting flu symptoms, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The hospital set up tents outside, which it opened Tuesday.
Closer to home, Lake Travis Independent School District officials are reporting an increased number of student absences due to flu or flu-like symptoms.
“There’s no cause for alarm, but there is concern over the number of students who are exhibiting flu-like symptoms or who have been confirmed as contracting the flu,” said Marco Alvarado, LTISD director of communications, media and community relations.
On Sept. 16, the district recorded 120 of 458 total students absences (26.2 percent) due to flu.
Seventy-two student absences at Lake Travis High School on that day were due to flu symptoms, which is 3.7 percent of that campus’ enrollment. Twenty-five Lake Travis Middle School and 15 Hudson Bend Middle School students were absent because of the flu that day.
The district reported that at Lake Travis, Bee Cave and Serene Hills elementary schools less than five students at each campus were absent Sept. 16 because of flu symptoms. No students reported flu-like symptoms at Lakeway or Lake Pointe elementary schools.
Becky Burnett, LTISD director of special services, said the district is recording a lot of health-related student absences but many of them are related to normal student illnesses, such as strep throat.
“The district has not gotten to a point where the number students out on a given day is great enough to consider closing a school,” Burnett said.
Symptoms with the 2009 H1N1 virus have ranged from mild to severe, according to the CDC. People 65 years and older and children younger than 5 years old are high risk of serious complications.
“While most people who have been sick have recovered without needing medical treatment, hospitalizations and deaths from infection with this virus have occurred,” its Web site states.
About 70 percent of patients hospitalized with this 2009 H1N1 virus have had a medical condition known to put people at “high risk” of serious seasonal flu-related complications, the CDC reports. These symptoms include pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and kidney disease.
Doctors believe the 2009 H1N1 virus spreads in much the same way as a seasonal flu does, mainly from one person to another by coughing or sneezing. People can contract H1N1 by touching an object with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
LTISD has increased sanitizing efforts throughout school campuses by using a higher-grade antiseptics solution each night on desks, keyboards, markers and phones and any surfaces that students or staff members might touch. Crews also are disinfecting hallways, cafeterias and buses on a daily basis.
Campuses also have installed hand sanitizers at doorways to major entryways at the schools for people exiting the buildings to use but primarily for people who could potentially transport the virus inside.
“Now we’re worried about what they are bringing into the schools,” Burnett said.
Educators have incorporated lessons on preventative measures into the school day. Each campus’ registered nurse has taught a lesson on disease prevention to every class that includes how to cough and dispose of tissues correctly.
In addition, judges will review entries next week in a districtwide poster contest that reflects what students have learned from these lessons. The schools will display the posters throughout the campuses.
“We thought student-created works would draw more interest from students,” instead of a corporate-looking poster, Burnett explained.
District officials have been working since the start of the school year on a contingency plan that would continue instructional lessons, albeit in a non-traditional setting, should the district close a campus or campuses for an extended time.
“That’s been the driving focus for us. Since the beginning of the school year, we’ve been working toward the idea of what to do if our students could not be here and how to get content to them,” she said.
The district’s curriculum and instruction team has adjusted materials for core subjects so teachers can post them on LTISD’s web site for parents to use and its technology department has assisted in helping teachers enhance their web sites.
Also, in an emergency situation the district would establish a central location where parents could drive and pick up lessons and assignments on a weekly basis.
Parents of students receiving free or reduced lunches could pick up the meals as well not only for students but also their siblings.
“We’re calling that Grab and Go,” Burnett said. “I think that would be tremendous for parents who don’t have Internet. We’re trying to think of all the options.”
Extra-curricular activities would be suspended because the traditional method of teaching or coaching students would not exist. Burnett said fine arts instructors would ask students to practice at home, should their schools be closed.
“In this [potential] situation, the most important things are the core content areas,” she said.
Last year, the Centers for Disease Control issued clear guidelines for school districts to follow in the event of a widespread flu outbreak. However, Burnett said they have not supplied guidelines this year.
“So we are being very careful,” she said.
Because doctors are required to report which type of H1N1 they have diagnosed a backlog of reports has piled up that delays when the school district receives the information.
“We just can’t rely on getting back that verification,” Burnett said.
LTISD nurses are monitoring students with Type A H1N1 and reporting periodically throughout the day and recapping at the end with district administrators.
Burnett complimented parents and guardians for their reactions when students say they are not feeling well.
“Our parents have been very good about not being dismissive about a student’s complaint. I think our parents are being vigilant about making sure [their children] are being treated and taken to a doctor,” she said.
Hudson Bend Middle School also is on alert after a student contracted MRSA, or methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The student is under a doctor’s care and is receiving appropriate treatment, according to the district.
Cleaning crews are thoroughly wiping and misting using commercial- and hospital-grade disinfectants.
“Rest assured, Lake Travis ISD custodial staff is taking immediate and appropriate measures to aggressively disinfect classrooms and other facilities at the campus, including but not limited to, the cafeteria, library, restrooms, athletic rooms, and other common areas. The district may take additional measures as needed,” Alvarado said.
Additional information and resources regarding MRSA may be obtained via the Texas Department of State Health Services’ Web site at www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/health/a ntibiotic_resistance/mrsa/. Questions or concerns should be directed to HBMS school nurse Meg Holt at holtm@ltisdschools.org.