Flu ruled out in preschooler's death

HAMILTON TWP, N.J. (WPVI) -- It's been more than 72 hours since parents learned of the death of a 4-year-old boy who was enrolled at Yardville Elementary School in Hamilton Township, New Jersey.

Today officials have not yet determined what respiratory illness caused the boy's death. And tonight health officials are hosting a meeting to address the tragedy.

Attendance was way off at the school today in the wake of the death of the preschooler.

The 4-year-old boy died Thursday of an unidentified respiratory illness. So far, tests have ruled out influenza.

Samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control to test for enterovirus D68. The illness has spread rapidly through communities in the Midwest this school year, sickening hundreds of children.

Workers disinfected the preschool classroom at Yardville Elementary over the weekend. Nonetheless, most parents kept their children home.

The school buses were mostly empty when they left the school at dismissal time. The school had a 40 percent absentee rate today.

While some parents are panicked, others say they're not worried.

One parent, Bob Fusik, tells us, "I just think ... with the cleaning and everything that's gone on, now the school is going to be the cleanest it's been."

There is no word yet on when test results will be available from the CDC. But the school's superintendent has called for a meeting with parents to update them on the situation and to the let them question local health department officials.

There's not much new to tell them, but they do want to reassure them.

Hamilton Township Health Officer Jeff Plunkett says, "We feel very confident that this school is as safe as it possibly can be."

The health department says the boy who died did not have any known preexisting medical conditions, including asthma.

If confirmed, this would be the second case on enterovirus D68 to surface in New Jersey.