Palm Beach County has new cluster of 21 swine flu cases

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Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localne...cswineflu.html



Palm Beach County has new cluster of 21 swine flu cases, health department reports
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By ANDREW MARRA
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 12, 2009

Twenty-one Palm Beach County residents may have become sick with swine flu while camping in North Carolina, the Palm Beach County Health Department announced today.

Health officials believe 21 in the camping group of 41 people are sick with the mutant flu virus strain after two campers tested positive for swine flu.

Nine of the sick campers returned to Palm Beach County Wednesday and six others are being treated in North Carolina, according to a health department news release.

So far, 18 swine flu cases have been confirmed in Palm Beach County. The 21 campers would bring the total to 39.

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Health Department Director Dr. Jean Malecki recommended that:

* People with respiratory illness stay home to avoid flu and other illnesses.

* Avoid close contact with people coughing or who otherwise appear ill.

* Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.

* Wash hands often to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses.

[Shiloh]

Re: Palm Beach County has new cluster of 21 swine flu cases

The outbreak above may be linked with an outbreak at a boy scout camp in north carolina:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109967

[Shiloh]

Re: Palm Beach County has new cluster of 21 swine flu cases

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...0,670535.story

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H1N1 swine flu ruins Boy Scout camping trip; 21 in group from Palm Beach County may have virus
At least two people in a group of campers have confirmed cases

By Brian Haas | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
5:31 PM EDT, June 12, 2009

PALM BEACH COUNTY - The swine flu virus ruined a week-long camping trip for a group of Palm Beach County Boy Scouts.

At least two scouts were confirmed to have come down with the H1N1 virus at Camp Daniel Boone in Canton, N.C., and health officials suspect that 19 others showing symptoms also have the virus. Until Friday, Palm Beach County had 18 confirmed cases of swine flu. The Boy Scout outbreak will likely double that.

"We were looking for that clustering," said Tim O'Connor, spokesman for the Palm Beach County Health Department. "This is really the first sign that a group of people have come down with it."

O'Connor said health officials had expected clustering sooner than later and this case will help them see how easily the virus is spread.

A group of 33 Boy Scouts and eight chaperons drove up from Palm Beach County to South Carolina Saturday, spent the night there and arrived at Camp Daniel Boone the next day.

O'Connor said that by Monday, some in the group started getting sick and on Wednesday, nine boys and two adults went home.

The sickness spread and another group is expected to go home today.

Elvin Manges, director of field service for the Boy Scout's Gulf Stream Council said that the camp will continue for those who aren't sick.

"They're staying, they're having a fun time," he said.

He said the scouts who did come home showed typical flu-like symptoms, but nothing more serious. He said the scouts have other trips planned to the camp and they will go on as usual.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization declared the Swine Flu to be a full-blown pandemic, meaning it had spread quickly into a global outbreak. Though Florida has had only a little more than 400 confirmed cases and zero deaths, the H1N1 virus has infected nearly 30,000 worldwide and killed at least 145 people.

Despite renewed concern at the virus' spread, health officials haven't changed their advice to people on how to best prevent the spread of H1N1. They recommend people wash their hands regularly, avoid touching one's eyes and mouth, avoid people who appear to be sick and stay home if they are ill.

Brian Haas can be reached at bhaas@SunSentinel.com or