With swine flu showing no sign of taking a summer vacation, the pandemic virus has claimed a fourth victim in the county and is surfacing at children's camps across the country, including one in Julian.
Outbreaks at 52 camps in 20 states have been reported to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, spokesman Joe Quimby said yesterday. Because the CDC and states don't require such reporting, the true number of camp outbreaks is likely higher, Quimby said.
?When you congregate children together, you are going to see increased clusters of infections,? said Dr. Wilma Wooten, San Diego County's public health officer.
At least 27 asthmatic children who attended a pair of American Lung Association camps in Julian and Livermore in Northern California came down with the flu, the organization told parents in a recent letter.
Four campers were hospitalized. Two were treated at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, spokesman Carlos Delgado said.
In the past two weeks, 44 children who were taken to Rady Children's Hospital with flu symptoms tested positive for swine flu, also known as H1N1 influenza A. The tally included two patients who had attended other camps in the county.
With normal strains of seasonal flu in hibernation, nearly all influenza cases now being detected are H1N1, Quimby said.
Swine flu has been mild overall, but it continues to claim victims. Yesterday, San Diego County's health officials said the disease contributed to the death of a 50-year-old woman on June 29, six days after she was admitted to Paradise Valley Hospital in National City with severe flu symptoms.
The woman, whom the county declined to name, had underlying respiratory and immune-system problems that played a role in her death, Wooten said. She was the fourth swine flu victim in the region.
In general, people with other serious health problems have been hit harder by swine flu. Asthma, diabetes, chronic heart disease and a weakened immune system are some conditions commonly associated with swine flu hospitalizations, the CDC said.
That pattern prompted the Muscular Dystrophy Association to cancel its summer camps nationwide, including one at Camp Cuyamaca in Descanso.
Other camps have delayed opening to guard against the virus, but most have kept their normal schedules. That was the case with Camp Marston in Julian, which hosted about 180 children over six days for the asthma camp that started June 21.
Camp Marston is operated by YMCA of San Diego. For 10 weeks each summer, the site runs camps for various groups of sick youngsters.
Nyeree Bell, 9, of San Diego's Encanto neighborhood, attended the program sponsored by the American Lung Association. By the second day of camp, she felt ill and threw up twice, said her mother, Kenya Bell.
After being checked by the camp's doctor, Nyeree said, she was allowed to continue sleeping in a cabin with other girls and participate in regular camp activities. Nyeree said she asked several times to go home but wasn't permitted to call her parents.
?I didn't find out she was ill until I picked her up? on June 26, Kenya Bell said. ?When I got her home, she had a temperature over 100.?
The sickness developed into bronchitis and triggered repeated asthma attacks, forcing Nyeree to take antibiotics and a steroid-based medication, Bell said.
?I thought this would be a good thing for her to experience ? going away, meeting new people, having fun doing outdoor things,? Bell said. ?She never wants to go to camp again.?
Darin Borgstadter, associate executive director of Camp Marston, said staff members follow CDC and county health guidelines, which include screening campers for illness when they arrive. The standards also call for segregating sick children until their parents can be notified to take them home or until they have been symptom-free for seven days.
?That's not our practice,? Borgstadter said of Kenya Bell's description of her daughter's experience. ?I would be surprised if that's what happened.?
Seven children tested positive for swine flu in the first three weeks of the summer season at Camp Marston, he said.
?Just like running a school, kids get sick? at camp, Borgstadter said. ?The camp is sanitized regularly. The beds are wiped down. The kids are required to wash their hands before meals.?
Parents play a critical role in preventing swine flu outbreaks from occurring at camps, Quimby of the CDC said.
?If your children have influenza, they need to stay home,? he said. ?Young people are very susceptible to this new flu, and there is no vaccine.?
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stor...-flu-detected-kids-camps/?metro&zIndex=128421
Outbreaks at 52 camps in 20 states have been reported to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, spokesman Joe Quimby said yesterday. Because the CDC and states don't require such reporting, the true number of camp outbreaks is likely higher, Quimby said.
?When you congregate children together, you are going to see increased clusters of infections,? said Dr. Wilma Wooten, San Diego County's public health officer.
At least 27 asthmatic children who attended a pair of American Lung Association camps in Julian and Livermore in Northern California came down with the flu, the organization told parents in a recent letter.
Four campers were hospitalized. Two were treated at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, spokesman Carlos Delgado said.
In the past two weeks, 44 children who were taken to Rady Children's Hospital with flu symptoms tested positive for swine flu, also known as H1N1 influenza A. The tally included two patients who had attended other camps in the county.
With normal strains of seasonal flu in hibernation, nearly all influenza cases now being detected are H1N1, Quimby said.
Swine flu has been mild overall, but it continues to claim victims. Yesterday, San Diego County's health officials said the disease contributed to the death of a 50-year-old woman on June 29, six days after she was admitted to Paradise Valley Hospital in National City with severe flu symptoms.
The woman, whom the county declined to name, had underlying respiratory and immune-system problems that played a role in her death, Wooten said. She was the fourth swine flu victim in the region.
In general, people with other serious health problems have been hit harder by swine flu. Asthma, diabetes, chronic heart disease and a weakened immune system are some conditions commonly associated with swine flu hospitalizations, the CDC said.
That pattern prompted the Muscular Dystrophy Association to cancel its summer camps nationwide, including one at Camp Cuyamaca in Descanso.
Other camps have delayed opening to guard against the virus, but most have kept their normal schedules. That was the case with Camp Marston in Julian, which hosted about 180 children over six days for the asthma camp that started June 21.
Camp Marston is operated by YMCA of San Diego. For 10 weeks each summer, the site runs camps for various groups of sick youngsters.
Nyeree Bell, 9, of San Diego's Encanto neighborhood, attended the program sponsored by the American Lung Association. By the second day of camp, she felt ill and threw up twice, said her mother, Kenya Bell.
After being checked by the camp's doctor, Nyeree said, she was allowed to continue sleeping in a cabin with other girls and participate in regular camp activities. Nyeree said she asked several times to go home but wasn't permitted to call her parents.
?I didn't find out she was ill until I picked her up? on June 26, Kenya Bell said. ?When I got her home, she had a temperature over 100.?
The sickness developed into bronchitis and triggered repeated asthma attacks, forcing Nyeree to take antibiotics and a steroid-based medication, Bell said.
?I thought this would be a good thing for her to experience ? going away, meeting new people, having fun doing outdoor things,? Bell said. ?She never wants to go to camp again.?
Darin Borgstadter, associate executive director of Camp Marston, said staff members follow CDC and county health guidelines, which include screening campers for illness when they arrive. The standards also call for segregating sick children until their parents can be notified to take them home or until they have been symptom-free for seven days.
?That's not our practice,? Borgstadter said of Kenya Bell's description of her daughter's experience. ?I would be surprised if that's what happened.?
Seven children tested positive for swine flu in the first three weeks of the summer season at Camp Marston, he said.
?Just like running a school, kids get sick? at camp, Borgstadter said. ?The camp is sanitized regularly. The beds are wiped down. The kids are required to wash their hands before meals.?
Parents play a critical role in preventing swine flu outbreaks from occurring at camps, Quimby of the CDC said.
?If your children have influenza, they need to stay home,? he said. ?Young people are very susceptible to this new flu, and there is no vaccine.?
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stor...-flu-detected-kids-camps/?metro&zIndex=128421