While there has been a little more than a handful of swine flu cases reported across the tri-county area of Orangeburg, Bamberg and Calhoun counties, one state Department of Health and Environmental Control official said there is no cause for immediate alarm.

The HIN1 flu (swine flu) virus is a new influenza virus being transmitted from person to person and causing a respiratory illness that is very similar to regular seasonal flu. It is usually a respiratory disease of pigs.

It is the same flu that reportedly swept through Camp Summers & Magnet, or Camp S&M, in Cameron during the week of July 27-31.

The Rev. Steven Miller, pastor of Springbank Baptist Church in Dalzell, said 10 of his church’s youth from grades 3-6 were attending the “Here’s Hope” youth ministry camp that week. He said all of them became sick, with some having contracted the swine flu virus following preliminary tests.

“All 10 of mine did get sick in one way shape or form. All came down with fever, some worse than others. Some tested positively initially, but some tested negative. ... They’re all doing fine now. I don’t know the status of the other children. I heard that most of them are doing a whole lot better. We just praise the Lord for that,” Miller said.

Miller said some youth counselors at the camp had been to The Wilds youth camp, a 1000-acre campsite nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Rosman, N.C., at least a week before attending Camp S&M. Miller said it is believed the counselors contracted the swine flu there and spread it to youth at the camp.

“Evidently the kids ... caught the bug. They brought it down here to the youth camp. It just traveled from one camp to the next. ... It was passed on to the younger children who had already been exposed to the counselors. It’s just kind of a chain reaction,” said Miller, noting that camp director the Rev. Johnny King, pastor of Calvary Bible Church in Sumter, didn’t realize it was swine flu until July 30, when “some of the children had preliminary tests which came up positive for swine flu.”

“By that time, the whole camp had been exposed,” said Miller, noting that Tamiflu, one of several types of antiviral drugs that can be taken against swine flu, was administered to the infected members of his youth ministry group, whose fevers broke within 48 hours.

The state DHEC reports that Orangeburg County has had seven reported swine flu cases confirmed through laboratory tests since May 16. There was one new case confirmed for the week of July 22-28. There have been five reported swine flu cases in Bamberg County since May 16, with one new case reported for the week of July 22-28. Calhoun County has had no reported cases of swine flu.

Adam Myrick, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, said the focus is not so much on the numbers of cases, but where the virus is going.

“We urge people to not get so hung up on the numbers because the CDC is estimating that the national case count numbers are very much an underestimate of the actual number of cases. Most cases are not tested for the flu, or at their physician’s office. The CDC has determined across the country that the numbers don’t mean a whole lot because they’re just grossly underestimated,” he said.

“What sometimes can happen is an individual can go to their physician and get what’s called a rapid flu test, a swab of the upper nasal area. That will indicate a result in the office and that then needs to go to a lab to be further tested. ... That’s sometimes what’s called an preliminary test,” Myrick said.

“We’re really focused right now on where the virus is going and how we can prevent its spread,” he said, noting the Web site upon which numbers of confirmed cases are posted is updated only weekly.

“We’re not able to update them daily or really confirm individual cases or possible cases. We’re really kind of going in the direction of the CDC and the World Health Organization. There’s discussion on where this thing is going and how we can prevent its spread. It goes back to the old hygiene tips that grandma used to get on us about all the time,” he said.

Covering your cough, either with a tissue or coughing into your sleeve; washing hands and staying home from work or school if you are sick are among the basic tips that individuals can follow to reduce the spread of the swine flu virus, he said.

“Those are some of the best ways that we can make an impact ... . So far in South Carolina, we haven’t had a death related to H1N1. We know it’s here. It’s been here since April. It’s much like the seasonal flu. The best way to protect yourself is the basic hygiene tips,” he said, noting that gel hand sanitizers are acceptable hand-cleansing agents.

“When school starts back, it’s very important to be aware of how kids are feeling and the classic flu symptoms. So far, H1N1 has behaved very much like the traditional seasonal flu, including body aches, fever, headache and maybe some nausea and lack of appetite,” he said, noting the state is trying to avoid worst-case scenarios.

“We haven’t seen that and that’s why we’re focused on stopping the spread. We hope to have the vaccine relatively soon, and we’ll be gearing up for our seasonal flu vaccine efforts at private physician offices and DHEC county health departments,” said Myrick, who cautioned that a seasonal flu shot will not protect against H1NI flu.

While a swine flu vaccine is not yet available, Myrick said the state DHEC hopes to have more information available soon. He is not sure, for example, how many doses of the vaccine would be needed.

“There are a lot of different players around the table on this one: local, state and federal. It’s going to be important for everyone to understand that the seasonal flu shot will not protect them against H1N1,” he said, nor will an H1N1 vaccine protect against the traditional flu.

“There will be multiple shots to get as we go forward in the fall,” he said.

Children are on the priority list for the first doses of swine flu vaccine, but because of time needed for testing and manufacturing, inoculations can’t begin until school has been in session for more than a month. The government is aiming for Oct. 15.

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 603-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories at TheTandD.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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