Bonham Schools Get Deep-Cleaned After Flu Outbreak

BONHAM, Texas (CBS11) - Spraying down every wall, every shelf, every desk, a cleaning crew is trying to wipe out the flu bug that prompted Bonham ISD to shut down its schools.

"Kids and staff were dropping like flies," said the superintendent, Dr. Marvin Beaty.

The district was already trying to stop the spread of germs.

Last Friday, 7 percent of the district's students stayed home, more than twice the normal number.

By Tuesday, 14 percent were calling in sick.

A quarter of the high school staff was out, along with half the kids in the Head Start program.

"We had to put a bigger bullet in the gun," said Dr. Beaty.

The district cancelled class for a week and hired Total Building Maintenance to deep clean its campuses.

"The flu is obviously crazy, crazy right now," TBM director, Neil Chopra.

The company uses a special electrostatic system to cover surfaces with disinfectant.

"If we spray the locker room, which we will, it gets into the screw, the screw head, the bolts," said Chopra.

He suggests families trying to disinfect their own homes or work spaces focus on any place hands tend to touch, like doorknobs, light switches, elevator buttons and bathroom faucets.

"Doing nothing is worse than overreacting, I think," said Dr. Beaty.

The superintendent says there's no guarantee these measures will work, but he believes it's worth trying.

"We're doing all we know to do and if necessary we'll do it again," he said.

Classes are set to resume Wednesday.