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School in Santa Cruz on Alert After Children Report Intoxication Symptoms and Suspected Measles
🇧🇴 Bolivia /Culture & Society

School in Santa Cruz on Alert After Children Report Intoxication Symptoms and Suspected Measles

From El Deber · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • A school in Santa Cruz de la Sierra reported stomach pain and other symptoms among 10 children after they ate the school breakfast, but officials have not confirmed a link.
  • The school also reported suspected or diagnosed measles cases, mainly in a first-grade class, where up to 11 children have been affected.
  • Municipal and health officials collected samples and began verification efforts while affected students stayed home.

A school in Santa Cruz de la Sierra’s Plan Tres Mil district is dealing with two health concerns at once: children who fell ill after eating the school breakfast and a rise in suspected measles cases.

The school initially reported seven students with stomach pain. The number later rose to 10. The children ate the breakfast during the morning and began feeling unwell that afternoon. Their parents took them to health centers, and the students are now staying home on medical leave while their families care for them.

School director Jairzinho Ali notified the municipal authorities. Officials visited the school on Tuesday and collected breakfast products for laboratory analysis. “The results have not yet come out to establish or determine whether it was caused by the school snack or not. We are waiting for those results,” Ali said. No connection between the food and the symptoms has been confirmed.

The results have not yet come out to establish or determine whether it was caused by the school snack or not. We are waiting for those results.

— Jairzinho AliThe school director said laboratory results were still pending on whether the breakfast caused the children’s symptoms.

Measles has created a separate concern, particularly in a first-grade class. Teacher María Edith Chávez said eight students have either been diagnosed with or are suspected of having measles, while three others requested medical leave after developing fever and other compatible symptoms. The school said the first cases appeared on Aug. 17, and between 10 and 11 children in the class were eventually identified as affected.

Teachers are monitoring students for symptoms, while staff from the 25 de Diciembre Health Center visited the school to conduct checks. Chávez urged parents not to send children who have fever or other signs of illness. “It is a very contagious disease. We warn parents and tell them not to send the child until the child is completely well,” she said.

It is a very contagious disease. We warn parents and tell them not to send the child until the child is completely well.

— María Edith ChávezThe teacher urged parents to keep children with fever or other symptoms at home because of measles’ contagiousness.
About this summary

Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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