Aug. 8--ALBANY -- Young campers may be returning home with more than scary ghost stories this summer: A stomach virus is spreading through overnight camps, according to the state Department of Health.
Officials have issued a health advisory to all overnight camp directors and camp medical staff alerting them to the outbreaks and providing them with preventive measures to reduce the spread of the gastrointestinal illness.
In a typical year, New York sees about 140 gastrointestinal infections among campers. This year, 800 cases of infections among kids and staff members have been reported at overnight camps, according to Claudia Hutton, spokeswoman for the Health Department.
The department would not release the locations of the camps, and county health officials in Schenectady, Albany and Rensselaer said they had no reports of problems.
"All of our overnight camps are completed now," said Andrew Suflita, director of environmental health in Schenectady, where there are four or five overnight camps. "Inspectors did do reviews of medical logs and they did not show any problems with GI illness."
Albany had no reports of illness, said Kerri Battle, spokeswoman for the Albany County Health Department, nor did Rensselaer, said Brenden Bedard, an epidemiologist for the county health department. Saratoga County officials could not be reached on Thursday.
Caliciviruses, better known as norovirus or Norwalk virus, are a common cause of these illnesses, the state Department of Health said. The viruses may be transmitted by exposure to infected people, who may shed the virus for several days after symptoms are gone, or through contaminated food and water. The viruses generally spread from person to person by direct contact and by touching contaminated surfaces or objects.
"Summer camp is (supposed to) be a time for fun, but the health, safety and well-being of our children is our priority," said state Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines in a news release.
To reduce the risk of acquiring or spreading the infection, Department of Health officials recommend:
People wash hands thoroughly after each bathroom visit and before preparing and consuming food.
People experiencing nausea, vomiting or diarrhea should not attend camp. Those who become ill while at camp should not participate in activities with well campers, should not go swimming and should not handle food for others until the symptoms are gone for at least 72 hours.
Although the virus is easily spread, especially where people live in close quarters, serious illness rarely occurs and infected people generally recover in one to two days. The most common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps, but a low-grade fever, chills, headache and fatigue may also be present.
For more information on Norwalk virus infection, visit http:// www.nyhealth.gov/diseases/ communicable/norwalk/fact_ sheet.htm. For more information on children's camps, visit http://www.nyhealth.gov/ environmental/outdoors/camps. F. Crowley can be reached at 454-5348 or by e-mail at ccrowley@timesunion.com. To see more of the Albany Times Union, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesunion.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Albany Times Union, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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