06:39 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 16, 2006

By Janice Williamson / 11 News

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Fear of the bird flu has local school officials hustling to come up with a plan on how to deal with a potential outbreak.

If the Avian flu gets here they could be hustling to lock the doors, but school closure is just one option that has been considered.

If bird flu hits Houston, school-age children could be among the hardest hit.  It is estimated illness rates would reach 40 percent in the classroom.

“We do have the potential to be a host site for Avian flu,” said Elizabeth Love, Harris County Public Health.

Representatives from local school districts gathered in a room in north Houston to learn what they can do to save lives.

“The closures of school at the outset of a pandemic could decrease the attack rate in a community by 33 percent,” Love said.  “That’s very significant.”

The decision to close schools would most likely come at the request of the city, county or state health department.

Already the city and the Houston Independent School District are on flu watch.

“They watch for trends and if they see peaks or things that are of concern or interest we follow their recommendations,” said Evelyn Henry, HISD Medical Services.

With their propensity to touch things and not always wash their hands, school age children may be the primary transmitters of Avian flu.

That is why area school districts are scrambling to come up with a plan to keep students and staff safe.

Thirty HISD schools with large parking lots and cold storage will be used to store and distribute medicine.  Schools will also be used as mass vaccination sites.

Experts said it is not a matter of if the deadly virus will make its way to the Houston area; it’s a matter of when.