PORT ST. LUCIE — City officials sent hand-delivered letters to inform the parents or guardians of 280 campers that an individual at one of the city’s six day camps was diagnosed with a “suspected” case of swine flu.

“Because the case has not yet been confirmed, the city has determined that the camp remain open and maintain the same hours,” according to a city press release.

The city is enhancing its cleaning and disinfecting procedures along with educating staff on the symptoms of the swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus.

The city is working with the St. Lucie County Health Department to monitor the situation, city spokeswoman Rita Hart said. Hart said the city would not disclose which camp the individual participated in or whether the affected person was a child or staff worker, due to privacy concerns, Hart said.

The city sent letters out to all parents or guardians of campers because the members of the camps interact with one another. Members of the X-treme Teen Camp for ages 12-14 and the preschool camp for ages 3-5 did not have direct interaction with the camp involving the affected individual, Hart said.

The city is advising employee or staff suspected of having the flu not to attend camp for at least seven days after the symptoms start or 24 hours after the symptoms go away, whichever is longer.

To minimize the risk, people should wash their hands with soap and warm water for 15-20 seconds and dry hands with paper towels or automatic dryers if possible, as well as covering mouths when coughing and using a tissue when sneezing or blowing noses, according to the release.

In Indian River County, four confirmed swine flu cases were recently reported at the Life for Youth Camp.

For more information, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Web site cdc.gov/h1n1flu

Eric Pfahler, TCPalm.com

© 2009 Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers

Tags: camp, parents, swine flu, teen

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