Swine flu at bible school

There’s a new case of the swine flu here in the Bay area. The Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon says a child attending bible school there tested positive for the virus. They’re telling parishioners as a precaution. Health officials say it’s a reminder that swine flu is still around and it can be deadly. The World Health Organization says swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, is the fastest moving pandemic they’ve ever seen. “We have to avoid complacency. And we must be prepared to deal with whatever the fall brings,” according to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. U.S. health officials warn, this may be the “off season” for flu, but the swine flu has never gone away. Saturday Bell Shoals Baptist Church announced a new case of the virus. A message on the church’s web site says a child attending vacation bible school tested positive for swine flu. Parishioner Harry Martin, who’s attended the church for the past 13 years said the news is unsettling. “It’s just unbelievable that something like that would be at our place here because of the cleanliness and everything else and all the fine people that are going here. And to find something like that would be fairly out of the ordinary,” offered Martin. The case at Bell Shoals Baptist Church is just the latest incidence of the H1N1 virus in Florida. Health

officials say since the outbreak emerged, more than 2,100 people have been sickened. “It was a 22-year-old in otherwise apparently good health,” explained Dr. William Heymann of The Sarasota Health Department. Thursday, Sarasota County announced it’s first death related to the virus; A young man who seemed to have no other medical problems. Health officials fear there are many more cases in the county. Friday, health officials confirmed the second swine flu related death in Sarasota county. “We don’t know of every single case, and we only have 10 confirmed cases in Sarasota County, but we do realize that there are likely far more than that,” explained Sarasota County Epidemiologist Scott Pritchard. Health officials in Polk and Broward Counties also confirm one death each, bringing the total number of deaths in Florida to 16. Doctors say the swine flu is occurring mostly in young people and predict that when school re-opens in the fall, we’ll see the number of swine flu cases increase greatly. Doctor’s advice remains the same. Wash your hands thoroughly and often and if you do feel like you’re getting sick, call your doctor. As for The Bell Shoals Baptist Church, cleaning crews have been scrubbing down the church according to Department of Health guidelines. The church says they will be open for services Sunday.

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Swine flu at bible school

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