- State and local health officials are investigating the
sudden deaths of five children since Sunday, four of them in Hampton Roads.
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- "It's a very unusual occurrence to have five young
children, who to our knowledge are healthy, have sudden deaths in this
short time,´´ said Dr. Robert B. Stroube, the state health
commissioner.
- Stroube urged parents not to panic.
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- "It may just be a purely chance event, and these
cases may have absolutely nothing in common,´´ Stroube said.
Still, anyone with an ill child would be well advised to take normal precautions
and see a physician, he said.
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- The investigation was launched Thursday after the State
Medical Examiner's office in Norfolk alerted state health officials that
it had four cases of sudden death -- two from Virginia Beach and one each
from Portsmouth and Hampton. Richmond's medical examiner then reported
a similar death there. Four of the five children are girls, Stroube said
Thursday night. All are between the ages of 2 and 7.
- Two of them are believed to be military dependents.
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- It's unclear if the two Virginia Beach deaths include
a Trantwood Elementary School student who died this week from pneumonia.
School officials sent a letter home notifying parents Thursday.
- None of the children had been hospitalized, Stroube said,
though the parents of some of them had sought medical attention.
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- "Our preliminary investigation shows that most of
the children had upper respiratory infections," Stroube said, "colds,
earaches, that sort of stuff. Nothing major."
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- Stroube said autopsies have been done on all the victims
and that a wide variety of tests are now being conducted. As the results
of those tests come in, more specific kinds of testing may be required.
Because of that, Stroube said, there was no way for him to estimate how
long it would take to figure out what -- if anything -- is going on.
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- "The main thing is we have to find out the cause
of death," he said.
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- "f these deaths had occurred over six weeks, we
probably wouldn't even have taken note of this,'' Stroube said.
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- He said the state has notified the Centers for Disease
Control in Atlanta. A CDC epidemiologist based in Virginia is participating
in the investigation, which includes a variety of state and local health
professionals.
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- Stroube said the families of the children are being interviewed
and that investigators will "see if there is anything in common that
they have with other people who are ill where they may have been."
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- The investigation also will include a check with local
schools and hospitals.
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- The probe has added urgency because of the nation's heightened
state of alert. Therefore, Stroube said the department is monitoring even
more closely any situation in which there appears to be a pattern of illnesses
or deaths.
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- He stressed, however, that preliminary findings already
suggest that it is "unlikely" that the children´s deaths
are related to bio-terrorism.
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- Reach Steve Stone at 446-2309 or stone@pilotonline.com
- © 2003 HamptonRoads.com/PilotOnline.com
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