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Mt. Holly student dies of swine flu
State lab results have confirmed that a 17-year-old Mount Holly high school student who died on Saturday had H1N1 swine flu, a New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services official said late yesterday.
The Burlington County Medical Examiner's Office identified influenza as the cause of death, officials said.
"The school is following all proper precautions and is working closely with county health officials," said Donna Leusner, a spokeswoman for the Health Department. "Daily monitoring by health officials is ongoing at the school."
Andres Mendez, a sophomore at Rancocas Valley Regional High School, became the 19th person to die of H1N1 in New Jersey since June.
Seventeen adults have died in Pennsylvania due to the H1N1 virus, including at least eight in Philadelphia and one in Montgomery County.
Mendez attended classes all last week and appeared to be in good health Friday, school officials said. But on Saturday, Mendez began feeling ill, ran a temperature of 104 degrees, and was having convulsions when paramedics arrived, officials said. He died at Virtua Memorial Hospital Burlington County.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this student," Burlington County Public Health Coordinator Robert Gogats said. "We realize that this is a worrisome time for all parents."
Michael Moskalski, superintendent and principal of the school, said parents called yesterday asking questions and expressing concern about the death.
"Any time you lose a student, it's sad," he said. "Andres was having a good year. He had only missed one day, in September."
News of H1N1 at the school frightened Tahisa Rashid, 44, whose 14-year-old son, Nasir, lives with his grandmother in Westampton and attends the school.
"This is scary," she said last night. "Normally, when [officials] find out something like this, they close the school down, don't they?
"You hear about this in another country, and that's one thing. But this hits home."
Rashid said she and other parents "think about all the children" who might be exposed to the flu.
"I tell my son to wash his hands and use the hand sanitizer," she said. "I put one in his book bag. And I tell him to stay away from people who are sniffling, anybody with symptoms of a cold. Don't hang around them."
Students also wondered how H1N1 might affect the school.
"I'm a little concerned," said Sean Fleming, 17, a senior, as he arrived at school yesterday. Mendez "was here last week. He was fine on Friday, and Saturday, he died. . . . I've been cleaning my hands as much as I can."
Counseling was provided to grieving students, with additional counselors from other schools on hand until it was clear that they would no longer be needed.
School officials also plan - with authorization from the school board - to set up a H1N1 vaccination clinic in the gymnasium Monday.
Information about the clinic and a permission form have been sent home with students and are available on the school's Web site. Parents also will be contacted in recorded phone calls and can view information on the school's cable channel.
"It is the goal of the Health Department and the school to keep the school open and functioning as normal as possible," Moskalski said in a letter on the school's Web site.
