Health District and school officials have confirmed 3 cases of swine flu
at middle school in Texas City

By T.J. Aulds

TEXAS CITY — Three middle school students in Texas City had confirmed cases of the swine flu, school and county health district officials said. 

All three students attend Blocker Middle School. They had recovered, and two had returned to school by the time the public was notified, officials said. 

School district officials said they were not informed of the cases until health district officials contacted them late Tuesday. A letter was being sent home to parents Wednesday, Melissa Tortorici, spokeswoman for the school district, said.  

Galveston County Health District spokesman Kurt Koopmann said the district’s nurse was actually informed of the first two confirmed cases late Friday afternoon, just before the school district let out for the three-day Memorial Day weekend. 

No classes were canceled or adjusted because of the illness, Tortorici said.  

Today is the last day of classes in Texas City. 

Tortorici said that while the health district confirmed the students attend Blocker, federal health laws prohibited county officials from confirming which students were infected so that the school district could determine what classes they attended.  

Tortorici said that had made it difficult to calm worried parents who called wondering whether their children had been exposed. 

The latest cases brought the total number of the H1N1 flu — more commonly referred to as swine flu — in the county to seven.

 Two confirmed cases were reported in League City, one in La Marque and another in Galveston, Koopmann said