The H1N1 influenza virus, commonly known earlier this year as “swine flu,” made its way into Pflugerville, leading to precautionary measures, temporary school closures and at least one death.

Timmerman Elementary School closed in May in response to a suspected case of North American H1N1 influenza.

Pflugerville ISD officials said they took the precaution of closing the school for two days to ensure the heath and well being of Timmerman students and staff members.

The closure gave officials time to have the campus cleaned and to receive additional guidance from Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services.

After Timmerman closed, other campuses continued operating as usual. No other PISD campuses were closed that month.

The University Interscholastic League initially suspended extracurricular events from May 1-11, but on May 5, the suspension was lifted.

PISD on May 1 suspended all extracurricular activities, with cancellations and postponements applied to events such as field trips, parent-teacher meetings and field days.

In April, H1N1 began causing local authorities to consider action to minimize its impact locally. At the time, no positive cases had been reported in Williamson or Travis counties.

Some of Pflugerville ISD’s efforts included increasing the time on automatic sinks by 10 to 20 seconds; focusing on cleanliness of high contact areas such as door handles; sharing guidelines posted in the campus and on several of the school Web sites; and establishing a health and safety team.

Plans also were made to make the vaccines for both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu available within the schools. However, the H1N1 vaccine only in mid-December became available for use by the general public and quantities were limited in Pflugerville.

In late June, Travis County Health and Human Services reported the first death due to H1N1 flu.

A 49-year-old man from Pflugerville was the first person in Travis County to die of swine flu and the 14th known death in Texas, health authorities said June 29.

Ron Stowe, a father of four who would have celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary this summer, died June 27 at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple. He had been airlifted from Scott & White University Medical Campus in Round Rock on June 13, two days after his diagnosis.