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Suspected swine flu case has Bible schools on guard

News Channel 8 photo by PAUL LAMISON

Histologists Kay Dubrall and Joanna Davis work in the anatomic pathology lab at Tampa General Hospital.

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By JOHN CEBALLOS | South Shore News & Tribune
and KATIE CORONADO | News Channel 8
and MARY SHEDDEN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 20, 2009

TAMPA - Vacation Bible schools – day camps with a dose of religion – have been a summer tradition for generations.

But a suspected case of swine flu has thrown a new wrinkle into the popular havens for youngsters, where skinned knees are usually the biggest health concern.

Last week, a child who attended vacation Bible school at Bell Shoals Baptist, one of the area's largest churches, tested positive for a strain suspected to be the virus. Officials at churches that are holding Bible schools of their own this week are keeping an eye out for illness as they teach youngsters arts, crafts and Scripture.

"We have a nurse on-site who monitors the children in case they display a cough, fever or other flu symptoms," said Kit O'Rourke, coordinator of children, family and education ministries at Apostles Lutheran Church in Brandon. "We're sending them home today [Monday] with a note asking their parents to also keep a close eye on them."

Harvest Chapel Christian Fellowship in Bradenton is watching the children who are signed up at its Bible school, director Paula Royer said. "I would say it's just enough concern, like any other flu that may be going around," she said.

The alarm over the suspected case at Bell Shoals comes as Tampa General Hospital's clinical labs have seen an above-normal level of testing for the swine flu, or H1N1 virus, since it hit epidemic levels months ago, lab services director David Devine said.

"The testing has increased multifold for various reasons," he said Monday of the influenza testing that can differentiate the swine flu virus from other strains of the disease. "Sure, we've got patients who come in to get tested, but we also have to monitor our staff because we don't want our staff getting sick."

Local health departments now are tracking more than 200 Tampa Bay area cases of the swine flu, with symptoms including a sore throat and headache, fatigue, a fever 100 degrees or higher, diarrhea and vomiting. Though the majority of cases are mild, three local men have died.

Health experts are urging individuals to follow recommended prevention practices, including staying home if sick, frequent hand-washing and covering one's mouth when coughing or sneezing.

As of yet, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved a vaccine for the swine flu. It did announce on Monday it has approved a vaccine for the seasonal flu which changes in composition each year.

Public health officials said they continue to work with drug makers and worldwide government agencies to test for a swine flu vaccine that can be safely administered to the general public. If and when it becomes available, a swine flu vaccine would not replace the need for a seasonal flu shot.

At Tampa General, Devine is braced no matter what for a continuing onslaught of testing for patients and the hospital staff.

"The flu has hit us hard all across Florida and the nation," he said. "So the expectation is that when the real flu season gets here, it could be big."

The Hillsborough County Health Department is paying particular attention to summer camp programs, where large groups gather and make infection of the fast-spreading swine flu more likely. Health Department program manager Warren McDougle, said that others who attended Bell Shoals' vacation Bible school have felt ill.

"We are working with the church," he said. "They've done everything they needed to do to protect people and themselves."

Church officials also sanitized the building where the vacation Bible school took place.

The child with suspected swine flu has been confined to home care until Thursday, according to George Thomasson, associate pastor at the church.

"I received an email from the family and it appears like the child is doing fine," Thomasson said. "The church has been helping out by sending food over to their house."

Health officials have reported 2,188 confirmed cases of the swine flu virus in Florida, with 96 of those cases occurring in Hillsborough County. Twelve deaths have been attributed to the swine flu virus in Florida.

Mary Shedden can be reached at (813) 259-7365. Reporter John Ceballos can be reached at (813) 627-4762.

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