NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (WFLA) – Some parents in Pasco County are on edge tonight after the Department of Health confirms one person may have exposed dozens of school children to tuberculosis.
The 31 kids were exposed to TB by an unidentified adult on the school bus.
Now, state health and Pasco County school officials are trying to calm parents’ fears by sending home a letter and making and fielding calls telling them the have zeroed in on the 31 kids in question and that all other students are safe.
“I don’t even want her here today, but I have no choice,” said Joyce Mirchandani, whose daughter goes to Cotee Elementary, one of the three schools where children may have been affected.
When asked what it was like to get the news, Mirchandani said, “Devastating, because I don’t have a normal child. I have a child with heart failure and a cold can turn into a deadly situation with her.”
The two other schools involved are Deer Park Elementary and Marchman Technical College.
“I don’t want my daughter to get it,” said Mikalah Houd, a parent of an eight-year-old at Cotee Elementary. “I’m pregnant and I have a three-year-old son, so it’s kind of scary.”
Houd feels fortunate her child wasn’t put at risk.
When asked what she would have done if her daughter was one of the 31 who are being tested, Houd said, “I don’t know. I probably would have panicked, freaked out. I kind of freaked out last night. Like I said, I almost didn’t send her to school today.”
“I understand with children, folks are worried and they’re not really even sure what they’re worried about,” said Amy Hopkins, RN, of the Florida Department of Health in Pasco County.
Symptoms of TB include a bad cough that could last three weeks, chest pain, coughing up blood, feeling week, fatigue, fever and chills.
When asked if she was grateful her daughter wasn’t one of the 31 children, Mirchandani replied, “Yes, I am very grateful, but there’s still that chance. The germ could still be floating around.”
The test results are expected back by next Wednesday.
As for the unidentified adult, a school spokesperson told News Channel 8 they are “staying home for a month.”WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON-
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