Shigellosis in Lubbock Schools
By: Lisa Carr
Updated: October 8, 2008
On Tuesday, we told you about the alarming increase of shigellosis cases in Lubbock and now kids at one local elementary school seem to be in danger of catching this particularly nasty bug.
Roy Roberts Elementary School has two confirmed cases of shigellosis and that's a lot, considering the entire city usually only sees one case a month. Both students are kindergartners, and on Thursday, letters went out to parents who have children who are in class with these two students. There are now four confirmed cases in the Lubbock School District, but officials say not to worry. They are stressing the importance of hand-washing at all times, especially after using the bathroom and making sure to do some extra cleaning in the exposed classrooms.
City officials say Lubbock is in a shigellosis outbreak right now because they've seen 44 cases in the past month, when they usually just see one case a month. Things to remember during this outbreak: you can prevent getting the illness by washing your hands, it can be treated with antibiotics, but if you ignore the symptoms, it can be deadly.
