May 19, 2009 6:43 pm US/Eastern
Father: Baby Did Not Die From Influenza
Number Of Closed Schools In Tri-State Jumps To 23
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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DNA test kits of the the influenza A(H1N1) or Swine Flu virus prepared by PrimerDesign Ltd are displayed at the company laboratory in Southampton on May 2, 2009.
Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
The swine flu is shuttering more and more schools and the question as to whether it claimed the life of a New York City infant appears to have been answered. In the latest developments Tuesday, 23 schools in the CBS 2 viewing area are now closed and the Queens Hospital Center has set up a triage area in the parking lot to help the many patients with flu symptoms.
Late Tuesday afternoon, parents of 16-month-old Jonathan Zamora Castillo arrived home saying they still had no answers to what happened to their baby boy. The infant's father says doctors had told him his child did not have the flu. Speaking from inside the family's Corona home, an aunt told CBS 2 the child's parents are devastated by the loss of their son. Hospital officials say the baby only had a fever Monday morning, but by bedtime he was unconscious and blue. His parents rushed him to the hospital at around 9:30 Monday night, and he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
Tests were being done to determine if the child died from swine flu.
"What we do know is clear: the loss of this child's life underscores the message of what we've been repeating for weeks. If you are sick, really sick, or if your child is really sick, don't hesitate to seek medical attention," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday morning.
The baby's 3-year-old sister and two cousins also came down with flu-like symptoms. The other three children, who lived in Corona with Jonathan, were treated at the same hospital and released
Hundreds of parents have been seeking medical attention for their children.
"I'm so worried because I saw the news inside the hospital. One baby died last night here," said Daisy, a Queens resident.
At Queens General Hospital a triage tent has been set up to handle the large number of patients coming in to be tested for swine flu. Emergency rooms like the pediatric ER at Elmhurst Hospital has more than doubled their patient load.
"Throughout the weekend we saw approximately 370 per day. Yesterday was 407. Predominately a great percentage are with flu-like symptoms," said Dario Centorcelli, a spokesperson for the Hospital.
Meanwhile, more schools continue to close their doors as significant numbers of students with flu-like symptoms grow.
Meanwhile, the list of schools closing as a result of the swine flu continues to grow. Two private schools in the Bronx and a parochial school in Queens are adding their names to the list.
The Horace Mann School in Riverdale said in an e-mail to parents that it will close at the end of the day Tuesday and reopen on May 26. The e-mail says lots of students have been going home with the flu, though no one has tested positive for swine flu.
Parents waiting to pick up their children at the prestigious school were confident the school was doing the right thing by closing.
"Kids are absent from school for a variety of reasons. We are focusing on kids that are being identified by a school nurse as having a documented fever. That's the main indicator we are looking at," said Deputy Health Commissioner Adam Karpati.
For the thousands of New York City children affected by the school closings, the Board of Education is putting their assignments on their Web site.
The latest developments in the swine flu outbreak have raised concerns among parents of school-aged children and younger.
Many are wondering, if the baby's death is linked with swine flu, would that change our perspective on the illness?
"Not really," says CBS 2 Dr. Holly Phillips. "We do expect many more cases of swine flu to develop and unfortunately for there to be more deaths. With the normal flu virus, those at greatest risk of complications are the very young, very old, and those with other medical problems. So the death of a young child is not unheard of."
And as to whether parents should pull their children out of school, Dr. Phillips says parents should pay close attention to any developments at their children's schools.
"That is not being recommended now, although I know a lot of parents are thinking about it. It seems that otherwise healthy school-age children recover from the virus just fine, but definitely be on the alert if there is an outbreak in the school. I know a lot of parents are looking forward to summer break," she says.
Click here for the complete list of schools currently closed in New York City.
Symptoms of the swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting as well. Anyone experiencing severe symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, should seek health care and treatment. The best way to prevent additional cases of flu in schools is to stay home when sick, cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, and wash hands frequently.
For those who are ill, the recommendation is to stay home until they are symptom-free for at least 24 hours.
Eating pork or pork products cannot spread the swine flu.
Q&A: What Is Swine Flu?
CDC Swine Flu Facts Sheet
Learn At Home Student Guides
CBS News Interactive: Fighting The Flu
CDC Emergency Updates Via Twitter
Swine Flu Twitter Live Search Results
David Burnia's Swine Flu Watch On Twitter
CBS 2's Jay Dow contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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