Guard Against Swine Flu at Summer Camp

July 19 -- SATURDAY, July 18 (HealthDay News) -- As children head off to summer camp, many parents are concerned about the risk for swine flu.

To protect kids from the H1N1 virus when they're at camp, Dr. Jeffrey Boscamp, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, recommends the following:

• Confirm that the camp is doing regular screenings, promoting proper hygiene and updating parents on any reported cases of swine flu.
• Find out if any H1N1 cases have been reported at the camp and if it has quarantined areas for infected children.
• Consider leaving siblings behind when visiting a child at camp. The H1N1 virus is particularly contagious among children.
• Check your temperature the night before and the morning of your visit. Bring some extra alcohol-based hand sanitizer with you.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more about swine flu.

SOURCE: Behrman Communications, news release, July 14, 2009