Swine Flu is Headed to Summer Camps Too, CDC Warns

Forget about mosquito bites, sun burns, and summer loves that end too soon. The biggest threat to millions of American kids at summer camps this year is the swine flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Just like it has done in crowded schools, the deadly strain of the novel H1N1 2009 influenza virus has taken root in camps all over the country, particularly New York and the northeast, and is causing localized outbreaks. Most of the 1,600 people now hospitalized with the flu strain are young children, the CDC said. The virus has been blamed for causing at least 87 deaths and 21,000 infections in the United States since it first appeared in April 2009.

In recent weeks, swine flu outbreaks have been reported at summer camps and religious retreat centers in California, Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio, the CDC said. Officials are concerned the number will increase as more kids mark the summer rite of passage.

Proper Hygiene Key to Preventing Outbreaks

The unique strain of flu virus can be quickly spread just about anywhere people are living together in close quarters and not practicing proper hygiene, such as frequent hand-washing. (Just think of a crowded camp dormitory, filled with rows and rows of bunk beds, and love-struck teens walking hand in hand around the lake).

The CDC is advising camp administrators and the parents of campers to be on the alert for sick children and refrain from sending them to camp, where they can quickly infect hundreds of their fellow campers. Children showing signs of the Swine Flu (which include fever, fatigue, vomiting, and diarrhea) should be kept home for at least a day and as long as one week after their symptoms have disappeared.

Worldwide Number Rise

Worldwide, the toll from the ongoing outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus stands at 167 deaths, with cases confirmed in 88 countries, the World Health Organization said. Just today, South Africa reported its first confirmed case in a 12-year-old boy who was visiting from the United States.

The fast spread of the virus to impoverished Africa is of particular concern to world health officials, who have warned that the deadly flu could kill many more people in areas with greater rates of malnutrition and AIDS combined with fewer health facilities than in the North American countries where the outbreak started.

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