5 Children dead in VA - Big Big Forums

mewoman · 02-20-2003, 11:08 PM

This is hitting too close to home for me, especially since my own DD is sick

http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=1142653

The Virginia Department of Health said Thursday it is investigating five deaths of children under the age of seven since Sunday. Four of the children were in Hampton Roads, the fifth in Richmond. At this time, no cause of death has been established and no link between the five deaths has been determined.

"They died unexpectedly, suddenly, and we're trying to figure out why," State Health Commissioner Robert B. Stoube told Richmond NBC Affiliate WWBT-TV Thursday evening.

In a news release distributed earlier in the day, Stroube said, "We are concerned about the recent deaths of these children, and we are rapidly investigating to determine the cause. Due to the preliminary findings in the investigation, it is very unlikely that this is due to bioterrorism."

WAVY News 10 has learned all of the children suffered from respiratory infections prior to their deaths. Two of the four local children where from Virginia Beach. The other two are only identified as 'military dependents.'

The Department of Health says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been notified of the deaths and the ongoing investigation.

"At a time when the nation is at a heightened state of alert, the Virginia Department of Health will take even more serious our normal monitoring of illness and fatality, looking for patterns and linkages," said Deputy Commissioner for Emergency Preparedness and Response Lisa Kaplowitz. "This is a part of an overall epidemiological strategy to detect and respond to health threats that are not a result of natural causes."

Although no link has been established to the deaths under investigation by the Department of Health, a letter from the Health Services Department of the Virginia Beach School System was distributed to parents of Trantwood Elementary students Thursday. The letter references the Wednesday death of a female Trantwood second-grader from complications related to pneumonia, and reminds parents of sick children to:

Wash hands often (both children's and caregiver's)
Cover mouth when coughing or sneezing
Watch for symptoms
Do not send child to school until fever-free for 24 hours
Trantwood Elementary is located in the Great Neck section of Virginia Beach

WAVY News 10 is following this developing story and will have more information in upcoming newscasts.

John · 02-20-2003, 11:16 PM

***ahippiechic*** · 02-20-2003, 11:34 PM

OMG, that is so sad!

Tasha405 · 02-20-2003, 11:38 PM

ebgreen74 · 02-20-2003, 11:53 PM

hope they find out what the heck is going on and SOON-Im in Hampton Roads with 3 young kids here.

mesue · 02-21-2003, 02:57 AM

My greatnephew who is 14 but very small for his age is sick and has been running a fever of 104 degrees for 5-6 days, they have insurance but it does not cover ER, he got to the doctor Wed, Dr. could not figure out whats wrong and said if he was not any better he was going in the hospital friday. My niece has been giving him alcohol sponge baths and tylenol but temp has been staying around 104. This is really scary she did say he as coughing and that his neck was swollen. We are in Va. also.

kybeauty · 02-21-2003, 07:19 AM

This is very sad

Quaker_Parrots · 02-21-2003, 07:23 AM

That sounds like what is going on here, we have had 4 deaths statewide, and they have blamed it on complications from the flu. (the kids ended up with pneumonia)
sounds like the news media in your area is having a field day,

mewoman · 02-21-2003, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by taybai
That sounds like what is going on here, we have had 4 deaths statewide, and they have blamed it on complications from the flu. (the kids ended up with pneumonia)
sounds like the news media in your area is having a field day,

Taybai....this has nothing to do with the media and everything to do with 5 healthy children dying within 3 days of each other. 4 of them within 25 miles of each other. Otherwise, the CDC and State Health Dept. wouldn't be involved.

http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw0221dea.html

Deaths of five children in four days spark investigation
By STEVE STONE, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 21, 2003

State and local health officials are investigating the sudden deaths of five children since Sunday, four of them in Hampton Roads.
``It's a very unusual occurrence to have five young children, who to our knowledge are healthy, have sudden deaths in this short time,'' said Dr. Robert B. Stroube, the state health commissioner.

Stroube urged parents not to panic.

``It may just be a purely chance event, and these cases may have absolutely nothing in common,'' Stroube said. Still, anyone with an ill child would be well advised to take normal precautions and see a physician, he said.

The investigation was launched Thursday after the State Medical Examiner's office in Norfolk alerted state health officials that it had four cases of sudden death -- two from Virginia Beach and one each from Portsmouth and Hampton. Richmond's medical examiner then reported a similar death there.

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Four of the five children are girls, Stroube said Thursday night. All are between the ages of 2 and 7. Two of them are believed to be military dependents.

It's unclear if the two Virginia Beach deaths include a Trantwood Elementary School student who died this week from pneumonia. School officials sent a letter home notifying parents Thursday.

None of the children had been hospitalized, Stroube said, though the parents of some of them had sought medical attention.

``Our preliminary investigation shows that most of the children had upper respiratory infections,'' Stroube said, ``colds, earaches, that sort of stuff. Nothing major.''

Stroube said autopsies have been done on all the victims and that a wide variety of tests are now being conducted. As the results of those tests come in, more specific kinds of testing may be required. Because of that, Stroube said, there was no way for him to estimate how long it would take to figure out what -- if anything -- is going on.

``The main thing is we have to find out the cause of death,'' he said.

``If these deaths had occurred over six weeks, we probably wouldn't even have taken note of this,'' Stroube said.

He said the state has notified the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. A CDC epidemiologist based in Virginia is participating in the investigation, which includes a variety of state and local health professionals.

Stroube said the families of the children are being interviewed and that investigators will ``see if there is anything in common that they have with other people who are ill where they may have been.''

The investigation also will include a check with local schools and hospitals

Quaker_Parrots · 02-21-2003, 08:24 AM

Wasn't trying to discredit the part of it being shocking that the children died,or that it was totally unexpected(sorry for that)
the main part of my comment was actually directed toward this:

Quote:

"At a time when the nation is at a heightened state of alert, the Virginia Department of Health will take even more serious our normal monitoring of illness and fatality, looking for patterns and linkages,"

The media has been awful lately about planting the seed of terrorism doubt, and I was just saying it sounds like they are at it again.

I am very sorry for the parents that have lost their babies, but I think the media needs to slack off some,(like the plastic and duct tape craze)

I also apologize if I came across badly, or am doing so now.

It really does sound like maybe these children are victims of the flu

http://wzzm13.com/searchcurrentdefau...articleid=5719
http://wzzm13.com/searchcurrentdefau...articleid=5803
http://wzzm13.com/searchcurrentdefau...articleid=5871
http://wzzm13.com/searchcurrentdefau...articleid=5899

Juggalette · 02-21-2003, 10:45 AM

(Grand Rapids, February 19, 2003, 6:05 p.m.) A third West Michigan child has died after battling a flu-like illness.

Two year old Jack Henry Williams of Fremont died last Friday. Six other children have died in recent weeks after similar symptoms. They live in Kentwood, Hastings and on the east side of the state.

Flu-like symptoms are common this time of year, but parents should still be on alert. Most of the time, people with those symptoms get better, but not always. We've seen that in the unexpected death of a little boy in Fremont and in the deaths of East Kentwood High School sophomore Billy Joe Green III and 11 year old Ashley Racine of Hastings.

"Generally we would see this in the 60 and older group that might have weakage of their immune system, to have children getting this and staying stick with it is uncommon," says Dr. Tammy Born, of the Born Preventive Health Care Clinic.

Many people are turning to their family doctor for advice. Symptoms to watch for include high fever, altered mental state, neck soreness, bleeding problems, breathing difficulty and severe headaches.

Dr. Born says preventive moves like vitamins, lots of water and plenty of sleep can help.

"The best recommendation I think is don't wait so long. If your child is sick more than two days, get them into a doctor and make sure it's just a flu virus and that is hasn't progressed," says Dr. Born.

Information on testing and treatment of the flu is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

For more information:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/rr/rr5103.pdf

I live here ,, in Kentwood , all four of my kids last week , had HIGH fevers , coughing , running noses , headaches , ect.. they would not even get out of bed . All of them are better now except for my two year old dd . She is still coughing but nothing serious and no more fevers .