LESTERVILLE, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
It appears swine flu has hit a summer camp that caters to low income kids mostly from the St. Louis area. Dozens of sick kids are back home after falling ill at Camp Sherwood Forest in Lesterville in Reynolds County. On Monday, 31 sick kids were sent home. Another 11 kids came home Tuesday night.One father we talked with calls it a parent's nightmare- kids sick some likely with swine flu. Camp officials doing what they can to keep more kids from falling ill.
"I had a fever and a nasty cough," said 13 year old Jasia Dickerson.
Jasia started feeling sick on Sunday. She was among the kids sent home from the camp on Monday. Still contagious, we had to interview Jasia from a distance.
"I was kind of sad because i didn't get to do a lot of things that other kids got to do," explained Jasia.
Jasia went to the camp back on July 22nd with two of her relatives. Among them was 13 year old Rhaven First. Rhaven's mom, Sharita First, says her daughter is also feeling sick and is coming home.
"I'm worried about the fever- how high this temperature is going to get; if she is going to be contagious, if i have to quarantine my daughter," said Sharita.
The executive director of Camp Sherwood Forest, Mary Rogers, says it started Sunday with a few sick campers. When tests on one of the campers came back with a positive Type A Influenza test, additional steps were taken.
"We screened the entire rest of camp. And when we did the screening, and we're doing temperature checks, and we're asking how do kids feel? Do you have a sore throat or cough? We identified eighteen more children who were symptomatic," said Rogers.
Rogers says five kids tested positive for Type A Influenza. Swine flu is a Type A Influenza illness. Health officials say it's unclear how many of the kids might actually have swine flu because they're no longer testing every sample. We're told that most positive flu tests during this time of the year are likely swine flu.
Authorities with the Reynolds County Health Department say they're directing all flu cases to be treated like swine flu.
Pamela Aiello with the Reynolds County Health Department says, "They recommend that you go ahead and treat with the Tamiflu no matter what kind of influenza it is."
At this point, the camp is remaining open for the kids who aren't sick. Reynolds County officials say the camp handled this situation well and has never had health related problems.
"They have their Summer food inspection, their lodging inspection, and they have always been exemplary and never had any deficiencies," says Kathy Zimmerman also with Reynolds County.
Sharita thinks that is wrong.
"This is very scary and very stressful. I think they should have had closed sherwood camp down and sent all the kids home," Sharita told us.
Nearly half of Sherwood's 88 campers have been sent home with flu or flu like symptoms. Camp officials say they are cleaning the camp continuously and are evaluating whether to keep it open on a day by day basis. Camp Sherwood Forest is the seventh Missouri summer camp to be hit with the flu in the last six weeks.
We're told none of the sick kids from Sherwood has been hospitalized.
