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Carter Park Elementary School was disinfected as a precaution overnight following the death of a four-year-old student. Cynthia Vega has reaction from parents. and gt; Read the full story and gt; WFAA Flu Information Center
>FORT WORTH - The swine flu is causing an unprecedented amount of illness for so early in the fall - and federal health officials said Friday that 11 more children have died across the U.S. in the past week.
Thursday's death of a four-year-old preschooler in Fort Worth, Yeimi Reyes, is believed to be linked to swine flu, although autopsy results are pending.
If her death is confirmed an H1N1 virus case, Yeimi would become the second child and the third person in Tarrant County to fall victim.
Yeimi attended Carter Park Elementary School at 1204 East Broadus on the city's south side. Officials there are taking every precaution to ensure the safety of her classmates.
"As a mother, you can't fathom losing your kid like that - so little," said Laurie Diggs, whose third-grade son Christian attends Carter Park. "We have to be aware, and we have to be cautious."
The entire school was disinfected overnight as a precaution.
"I'm worried day to day, but what can we do?" asked Reyes Perez, the father of another Carter Park student.
Many physicians recommend that children receive the H1N1 flu vaccine, which is finally arriving at clinics and doctor's offices across North Texas. Most of the initial doses are in the form of nasal spray.
Diggs has already been checking on availability of the vaccine for her child. "Everybody's out of supplies, so I'm calling the doctors and making sure that we can get in there and get it done, because this is a scary thought. Little kids to die like that? It's very scary."
More shipments of the H1N1 vaccine are already in the pipeline, headed to hospitals, doctors and clinics. Future shipments should include the injectible form of the vaccine, which is said to be safer for high-risk groups, including children with underlying health conditions.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about half of the child deaths since September have been among teenagers.
And overall for the country, deaths from pneumonia and flu-like illnesses have passed what CDC considers an epidemic level. About 6 percent of all doctor visits are for flu-like illnesses, levels not normally seen until later in the fall.
The CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat says, "These are very sobering statistics."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
