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H1N1 flu outbreak reported at Ontario summer camps: [1 b% H# ?0 z1 C0 y
) K% B' a, E, P4 h% ^0 P8 P; vUpdated: Wed Jul. 15 2009 3:50:08 PM
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The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is reporting that 227 young people at three summer camps in cottage country have developed H1N1 flu.& e, m/ y1 D" r: z2 Y1 `1 F. o
1 T5 P, A6 U$ `Dr. Charles Gardner, the district's chief medical officer of health, told ctvtoronto.ca on Wednesday that the district isn't saying which three camps are involved.4 z9 C3 I" N$ A2 r! c! @- U1 m/ L
: s. H! Q! W3 H; I. ^/ k, _The lakeland area of central Ontario covered by the district has 71 registered camps. The three camps involved had 1,275 campers and 480 staff, he said.
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" \5 l* ~7 O3 s6 RThe number of infected represents almost one in five campers and almost one in seven camp staffers at the affected camps.+ R& v7 ]4 }" U0 J
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The cases developed in the past week. All are considered mild, meaning no one required hospitalization, Gardner said.5 C" v- x# z, n. R
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"The camps are working very closely with the health unit to implement what we call control measures," he said.6 |; o! E6 C# g* [& `% b" U9 k) q
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Most of the infected campers have been sent home to recover. Those who can't be sent home for whatever reason are in quarantine.6 L1 N6 v* b0 {
! o: V; `8 d* Z _9 ~* m) @; {Gardner said the district is also having all camps tell all parents in writing that "this is an unusual year" -- referring to the outbreak of H1N1, which the World Health Organization has declared a pandemic.
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+ o w; b& s, S"They need to be aware of H1N1 influenza, that we've had three outbreaks to date and there's the possibility we could have others," he said. k2 Y) f% k |: u: U4 q- H( B
) f6 D5 W, z) L7 ]Parents can help by making sure they aren't sending sick children to camp, Gardner said." I( b, g% K+ k, K- d
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"Do not send your children to camp if they have any influenza-like illness," he said.' C) V& m: Z! j- _3 P8 ^! o
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Those symptoms include fever, cough, sore throats or a general sense of malaise. "If that's happening within seven days of them coming to a camp, they should not go," he said.
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( J3 X4 K2 C+ P0 pGardner said the district thought there could be some outbreaks at camps this summer, given that some cases had occurred in schools.
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However, normally the district is usually more focused on working with camps to prevent outbreaks of gastroenteric diseases and on injury prevention, he said. |
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