By ELLIOT JONES
Tcpalm.com

VERO BEACH — There are now 65 confirmed swine flu cases in Indian River County, the latest being an unidentified youth age 18 or younger, health officials said Friday.

The child is not among the four confirmed swine flu cases recently reported at the Life For Youth Camp, a day and residential youth camp attended by hundreds of youths each week, said Miranda Swanson, director, Indian River County Health Department. Three are from Indian River County. The fourth was confirmed to have the swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, on Friday but the person had returned to a home out of the county so the case isn’t included in the Indian River County total.

Health Department officials visited the camp, off 82nd Avenue, on Friday to ask for information on who has become sick and when. And the department provided a health advisory the camp is to hand out to campers, Swanson said.

Camp officials refused comment. Camp officials did post an announcement from the health department on the camp’s Web site, www.lifeforyouthcamp.com, alerting parents about the confirmed cases and recommending that they keep their children home if they develop symptoms of the flu.

Health officials expect there are more swine flu cases at the camp because about 22 others had Influenza Type A, which in 90 percent of cases in Florida are turning out to be swine flu, Swanson said. The numbers include campers and counselors.

Parents of an 11-year-old girl who contracted swine flu at the Life for Youth Camp said Friday they were not informed of the previous three cases of the flu at the camp.

The camp director later told them about the incidents and thought they had taken care of the problem, the parents of Amanda Pike from Jupiter Farms said from Jupiter Medical Center.
Pike’s parents say the girl had been at the Life for Youth Camp since last Sunday. They were contacted recently about their daughter being sick.

The camp director has since called the Jupiter Farms family and apologized.

There have been no swine flu-related deaths in Indian River County or any other Treasure Coast counties. Palm Beach County had its first swine flu-related death in late June when a healthy 25-year-old pregnant woman died. The baby of a pregnant woman with swine flu had to be delivered prematurely and then died Saturday.

Swine flu is primarily spread by respiratory droplets — such as by sneezing — within six feet of the sick person. So stay that distance from a sick person, Swanson said.

Also it can be transmitted by hand contact with people, handrails or door knobs. The virus may live for up to two hours on surfaces, unless they are disinfected. People are advised to regularly wash their hands with soap and to contain their sneezes.

All the swine flu cases in Indian River County have been reported since April. The illness usually lasts about five to seven days.

Tags: Indian River County, swine flu, Vero Beach

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